


Notebook: The Aftermath

by askandiwilllie, secretsillnevertell



Series: Notebook Series [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Cunnilingus, F/M, Hand Jobs, Memory Alteration, Parent/Child Incest, Rape Recovery, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 20:45:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4236024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askandiwilllie/pseuds/askandiwilllie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsillnevertell/pseuds/secretsillnevertell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part two, following Notebook. This follows Henry and Regina and how they deal with the truth and their feelings, regarding Henry's experience with Gwyn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Notebook: The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Read Notebook first.

Regina woke early, before the sun had even begun its ascent in the sky. She was still in Henry's arms, could feel the heavy weight of his cast against her back. Sighing heavily, she considered the multitude of issues they still had to discuss and decided she would offer him the day out of school to do so, if he needed it. She shifted carefully, moving from his arms and checking to see that he was still asleep when she slid out of bed to go to the bathroom.

The movement, followed by the lack of warmth, pulled Henry from his sleep, and he groaned, pushing his face into the pillow beneath his head. As he inhaled, he relaxed, his fuzzy brain taking a moment to register the comforting smell of his mother, and once he did, he blinked his eyes open in confusion. The night before came back to him in a rush -- the emotion, the fear, the awkwardness… the kisses. He focused on that last one, wrapping his arms around his mother’s pillow and hugging it to his chest as he laid there, wondering if she was going to come back to the room.

When Regina finished taking care of what she needed to, she stepped quietly back into the bedroom. Henry had moved, but his back was to her, so she couldn't tell if he was awake. "Henry?" she whispered, sitting down on the edge of the mattress behind him and tentatively reaching one hand out to touch his shoulder.

Henry rolled to his other side, biting his lip as he looked up at his mother. “Morning,” he said quietly, his voice low and husky with nerves and disuse.

"I didn't mean to wake you, sweetheart." Regina moved her hand to his hair, running her fingers through it and giving him a weak smile. "How did you sleep?"

Smiling a little, Henry shrugged. “Better than I thought I would.”

"Good." Moving her hand back to his arm, Regina looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand, then back to Henry. "You can sleep a little bit longer."

Henry lifted his head to look at the clock as well and frowned. “I gotta get ready for school,” he corrected, not looking forward to it, but dragging himself to a sitting position anyway.

"You can stay out today," Regina answered. She dropped her hand to cover his, squeezing his fingers with her own.

“Really?” Henry perked up slightly. “So I don’t have to see…” he trailed off, not wanting to say her name. “And, and you’ll still call the school and have my classes switched?”

Regina nodded, squeezing his hand again. "Of course, Henry. I'll call them today, but yes, for today we can stay home and relax. We'll talk some things over and see where to go from here."

“Okay,” Henry agreed. He fidgeted a little, chewing on his lips before asking, “What, um, what do you want to talk about?”

Moving to lean back against the headboard, she studied him for a moment. "We can talk about whatever you want. At some point we should discuss if you're going to press charges, but that can come later." Regina paused, turning her face to look at him. "We could discuss last night, if you want."

“I-I…” Henry looked down, scratching idly at the edge of his cast. “I don’t want to talk about it if you’re going to regret it.”

"Henry, darling, no. I am still just a little confused, but no, I couldn't possibly regret it." Her words were true, even in the face of such a strange situation. There was much they needed to discuss.

“Okay.” Henry glanced back up at her and gave a little smile. “I guess we can talk about it, then. Um, what did you want to talk about?”

Regina returned his smile with a small one of her own. "I suppose I'm curious what you want from this... from me, concerning what we did last night."

Looking down again, Henry sighed. “I don’t know. I mean… a month ago… but now… I don’t know. I just… I want… to be close to you.”

Pursing her lips, Regina slid one hand down his back and leaned against him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Okay, sweetheart."

Turning his head slightly to glance at her, he hesitantly asked, “What, I mean, I know you haven’t… thought about it before or anything, but… what would you, uh, want?”

"I don't know." She moved her free hand to hook around his arm as she considered the possibilities. "I feel like you're in a very vulnerable state and I don't want to do anything to make that worse for you. At the same time, no, I hadn't ever thought about it, but something about last night felt... right."

Henry swallowed hard, his chest feeling tight as he processed her words. Unbidden, the thought came to him that if he’d just _told_ her, if he hadn’t tried so hard to hide his feelings, maybe everything with Gwyn wouldn’t have happened, maybe he would, in fact, have had his first time the way he’d hoped and imagined. And he kicked himself for his silence.

Regina brushed a light kiss on his shoulder, squeezing his arm where her hand rested. "Talk to me, Henry. I don't want you to keep things bottled in. There is nothing you can't say to me, okay?"

Nodding slightly, he looked down at her hand and slowly replied, “I feel dumb. I… if I’d told you, before all of this, maybe it wouldn’t have happened. Maybe… maybe… _we_ would have something,” he finished in a whisper.

She brought both hands to his face, tilting it up and looking into his eyes. "You are anything but dumb, Henry. And there was no way for you to know how I would have responded." Regina brushed her thumbs across his cheeks and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips. "Who says we don't have something?"

“It wouldn’t be the same,” Henry argued quietly, frowning slightly. “It would’ve been… better. I wouldn’t be so damn broken now.”

Regina pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding him tightly. "My darling, it will get better. It's awful right now, I know, but you are strong, and you are a survivor, just like I am."

“I don’t know how you survived it for ten years,” Henry said, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her upper chest. “And…” he hesitated, but finally continued his thought in a whisper. “I’m glad Graham never got his heart back.”

Regina's breath hitched in her throat and she could feel a tightening in her chest. "... Because of the pain?" she asked quietly.

Henry nodded slightly. “I’m sorry.”

"Don't be. It isn't your fault I was evil." Combing her fingers through his hair, she sighed and pulled away slowly.

Tightening his grip on her, Henry frowned and looked up. “Where are you going?” he asked, his voice unintentionally small.

"Why would you want to be with a monster?" she whispered, closing her eyes and holding back the tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill over.

Henry shifted upright, keeping his casted arm around her waist and bringing his other hand to cup the side of her neck. His eyes serious, he repeated what he’d told her the night before, “You’re not _my_ monster.”

"But I'm still a monster. It may not have been you I hurt that way, but I was worse than she was."

Nodding slightly at the truth of her statement, he replied, “You _were_ a monster. You _were_ the Evil Queen. But that’s not who you are anymore. You’re… you’re my mom. I trust you. I feel safe with you. I love you.”

Regina's eyes moved between his and she slowly nodded her understanding of his disagreement. "I'm glad you feel safe with me. That's everything I want."

Tilting his head to rest his forehead against her, Henry gave a small sigh. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting lately. I treated you like crap and you didn’t deserve that.”

With a quick shake of her head, Regina said, "You don't need to apologize. You were hurting, people do hurtful things when they're in pain."

“It was more than that,” Henry protested. “I was worse to you than I was to Ma. I was… I was more afraid of you finding out, because I thought if you knew how I felt, you’d be disgusted. So I was mean to you so you wouldn’t suspect it.”

"I'm not mad at you, darling. You were trying to protect yourself, I understand that. I hate that you felt you needed to, but I really do understand."

“... Can I kiss you again?” Henry asked, shyly.

Regina bit her lip and nodded slowly. "Yes."

Tentatively, Henry tilted his head, his fingers flexing against the back of her neck as he brushed their lips together.

Holding the kiss, Regina parted her lips against his, making no other move to deepen it. Just as she had the night before, she would go at his pace.

Henry moved his lips slowly over hers, until their mouths fit together, his lips bracketing her lower lip.

Regina moved her hands up to rest against his chest, her thumbs caressing him through his shirt. Sucking lightly on his upper lip, she let out a soft moan, just a little thing, letting him know the kiss was good.

Encouraged, Henry slipped his fingers into her hair, pulling her head back gently and sliding the tip of his tongue across her lip.

She parted her lips for him, sliding her tongue out to meet his. It was freeing, feeling such intimacy when Regina knew she didn't deserve it.

Henry sighed happily into her mouth, leaning into her and holding her tighter against him as they kissed.

Regina never would have imagined allowing this, doing it so willingly especially, but she'd been honest when she told him it felt right. She moved her hands around to the back of his neck, lightly massaging his muscles as she kissed him, relaxing into his hold.

Unable to keep from smiling at the return of his affections, Henry broke the kiss and grinned at her.

Giving him a soft smile in return, Regina raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Shrugging a little shyly, he simply said, “I love you.”

"I love you, too, darling." Regina pulled him against her into a tight hug. "Very much."

“Do you think…” Henry hesitated, glancing down for a moment before looking back up at her. “Maybe, when my head isn’t so messed up anymore… maybe you might want to… be with me?”

Furrowing her brow, she rolled her lips together. "Do you mean... sex? Or... something else?"

“I… maybe?” he said in a small voice. “Like… maybe like a relationship? A romantic relationship? Like, like what I wrote about.”

"We can certainly talk about it, Henry." Regina lowered herself to sit all the way back down, crossing her legs. "I think you should discuss it with Archie, maybe figure out what exactly you might want."

“Will you talk to him, too?” Henry asked curiously.

"I can, if you want that," Regina answered.

Henry shrugged again. “I just figured, I mean, that if it’s something you’d really consider… it’d be good to talk to him? I don’t know. My brain is all…” he trailed off and made an indistinct motion with one hand.

Taking his hand, Regina shook her head. "Darling, it's fine, don't feel ashamed for your questions." She paused, taking a deep breath and exhaling it heavily. "I just... I don't do well discussing my life with others."

“What if you talked to me but Archie was there?”

"That could make it easier, I suppose."

Smiling, Henry leaned into her again, resting his head on her shoulder and pecking a kiss to her neck. “Thank you, Mom.”

Regina moved one hand up to cup his head, nodding against him. "Of course, sweetheart."

~

Later that afternoon, after hunger had driven them from the bed and appointments had been made, Henry stood in the same place he had the day before, tentatively knocking on Archie’s office door while Regina was at her office, gathering the day’s paperwork to do at home.

Archie pulled the door open, giving Henry a welcoming smile. "Henry, come in." He stepped aside, allowing the young man to enter, then closed the door behind him. "Have a seat."

Henry sat on the couch, fidgeting as he looked around at the walls.

Archie took his seat across from Henry, crossing an ankle over his knee and picking up his pad of paper and pen. "How are you, Henry?"

“Dunno,” Henry shrugged. “Um, I told my mom. Actually I couldn’t tell her, so I wrote her a note and left my notebook at her house.”

Nodding, Archie motioned for Henry to continue, saying, "How did that go?"

“She came over to the apartment and we hugged a lot and I cried,” he flushed a little in embarrassment at the admission, “and then she got Ma to take her to, um, Gwyn’s house, and she threatened her a bunch, and came home, and we talked and we kinda kissed a bit and fell asleep together.”

Archie steeled his expression, then nodded again. "All right. Can you explain what you mean by 'kissed a bit'?"

Henry’s blush deepened, and he shifted in his seat, picking at the edge of his cast. “Um… well, we were talking, and I kinda just… started to lean in, but then my brain kicked in and I jumped back, and she asked what happened and I told her that I was about to kiss her but I knew that wasn’t okay, and she asked if I wanted to kiss her, and I said yes, but I didn’t want to make her feel obligated, even by accident, and then she kissed me. And we talked a bit more and then I asked if I could kiss her, and… we kissed a bit.”

"How do you feel about that? I know it was something you were interested in, but how does it feel in light of the circumstances surrounding it?"

Making a face, Henry frowned. “It kinda sucks,” he admitted slowly. “I feel like it could’ve all been avoided if I’d just talked to her in the first place. And maybe… maybe we’d be together, y’know?”

"Do you no longer wish to be with her?" Archie asked, jotting a few lines of notes as he waited for an answer.

“No, I do!” Henry said quickly, shaking his head. “I mean, kissing her is amazing. But I just… I kind of hate myself a little, because it would’ve been so easy to avoid this shitstorm, if I’d just had balls.”

"Were you ever given a reason to believe Regina would have been willing?"

Henry shifted again, looking away. “Well… no.”

"Then you shouldn't berate yourself for not bringing it to her before all of this happened." Archie held his pen between his index fingers and considered his words carefully. "What you need to focus on is the future. There is nothing we can do to change the past."

“I guess,” Henry agreed reluctantly. “Oh, uh, Ma kinda knows what happened. I mean, she doesn’t know what it’s _about_ , but she knows that I was, y’know, blackmailed and stuff.”

"Do you want to tell Emma what it was all about?" Archie asked, returning his pen to hover over the paper.

Looking down, Henry shrugged for what seemed like the millionth time. “I dunno. I mean, if… if I press charges… she’s gonna find out.”

Archie set aside his pen and paper, leaning forward, planting both feet on the ground, and resting his elbows on his knees. "I can't give you legal advice, but I do know how these things work, would you like me to tell you what will happen should you press charges, so you can make an educated decision on it?"

Henry nodded quickly, looking up again. “Yes, please. I have no idea how it works.”

"If you press charges, you'll have to give a testament, along with testifying in court. You'll have to submit any evidence, such as your notebook. Anyone working the case, on your side, her side, and the jury and judge, will be given the evidence to look over, as well as being there for your statement, and hers." Archie paused, wanting to give the information as neutrally as possible, regardless of his feelings toward Henry, and the hatred he felt for what had been done to him. "Now a jury is made up of the defendant's peers, so they will be people around your age."

Swallowing hard, Henry began picking at his cast again. “So… my classmates,” he clarified. “They would… they would know what I wrote. All of it.”

"I'm not certain they can use your actual classmates, because I'm not entirely certain they would be able to use minors on a jury, but people you have gone to school with, yes."

“That’s… kinda scary,” Henry admitted quietly. “I mean, I want her to be punished, but… Too bad Mom can’t just lock her up in the basement of the hospital,” he sighed. “But she does that, and next thing you know, people are freaking out because her name back in the Enchanted Forest was Snow-White, and ‘oh my god, the Evil Queen is back!’”

Archie nodded, leaning back in his chair. "I know it's scary, but it's something you should discuss with your mom, or both of them. Ultimately the decision is yours."

Sighing, Henry nodded. “Yeah… Um… I kinda think I wanna tell Ma about the notebook, but… I’m worried she’ll freak out. Do you think, I mean, would it be okay to tell her here? And maybe have Mom here, too?”

"Of course, Henry. We can set something up for that. The important thing is that we do it in a manner that gives you as much comfort as possible."

“Then Mom definitely has to be here,” Henry said, nodding. “She…” He lowered his eyes and voice, “she makes me feel safe.”

Archie nodded again. "It is nice to see how pleasantly your relationship with her has changed over the years, Henry. I'm glad she makes you feel safe."

Smiling a little, Henry murmured an agreement.

Archie smiled, patting his knees. "Do you want to discuss anything else today?"

“Um, I don’t think so? My brain’s all full of stuff, so I dunno.” Letting out a chuckle, Henry pointed out, “Besides, it’s not like I can’t make another appointment if I think of something.”

"You are welcome absolutely anytime," Archie agreed. "You have my phone number as well, feel free to call me if you need to talk, as friend or therapist, you know that."

Henry smiled as he stood. “Thanks, Archie. I know people kinda overlook you, but you’re seriously one of the best people in town.”

Standing to walk Henry out, Archie gave a small chuckle. "I don't mind being overlooked. I was on your grandparent's counsel in the Enchanted Forest, and believe it or not, I don't mind the quiet here."

“Well it probably helps that the queen is on the same side,” Henry pointed out as he opened the door.

"Very good point." Archie led him out with a reminder to call him anytime he needed to.

Henry headed back to the mansion, not caring that it was technically his week with Emma and he’d already spent the night before there, he wanted to be near Regina as much as possible. Once he was home, he took out his notebook and a sheet of paper, tapping a pencil against his lips as he thought out a pro-vs.-con list.

After Regina had gathered her necessary paperwork and made a few phone calls that would allow her the rest of the week off work, she stopped by Granny's to pick up a late lunch for the two of them. She headed home, calling out for Henry as she entered the house and moved to the kitchen with their food.

Leaving his things in Regina’s study, where he’d been, Henry walked into the kitchen, still pensive. “Hey, Mom,” he greeted distractedly.

"Hello, sweetheart," Regina answered, pulling his burger and fries out of the bag and setting them on a plate. "How was your session?"

“Pretty good.” Henry slid into one of the chairs at the island and took the plate, picking at his fries. “Lot to think about.”

"Do you want to talk about it?" She pulled out her salad, dumping it onto her own plate and sitting beside him.

“Just, y’know, about if I should press charges and tell Ma.” Henry threw a fry into his mouth to keep from sighing.

Regina crooked her jaw, smoothing her hands over her pants before moving one to his shoulder in a gesture of support. "Did you decide?"

Henry shook his head. “I made lists, but… I dunno. I think I wanna tell Ma, but only if you’ll be there.” He looked over at her with sad but hopeful eyes.

Nudging him with her shoulder, Regina gave him a playful grin. "Put those puppy eyes away. You know I'll do anything I can to make this easier for you, Henry."

Grinning a little, Henry nodded. “Thanks, Mom. I just wasn’t sure, because, well, it’ll be uncomfortable. And Ma will probably, um… _have questions_ for you if you’re there.”

She nodded, her lips tightening into a stiff smile that she quickly covered by taking a bite of her salad. After she swallowed, Regina took his hand in hers. "Darling, I can handle it. You are who I'm concerned about, anything else will be managed accordingly."

After eating a bit more of his lunch, Henry pushed his plate away and rested his forearms on the counter, sighing. “I want her to be punished, but I don’t want everyone knowing.”

Standing, Regina wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek to the back of his shoulder. "I know, darling. It's a nearly impossible decision."

“I wish I hadn’t broken the Author’s quill,” Henry admitted quietly.

Regina lifted her head, standing straight and pulling him to face her. She wrapped her arms around his head, tugging him against her and kissing his hair. "I'm sorry, baby," she whispered, stroking his hair with one hand. "I wish I could take all of your pain away."

Sighing into her chest, Henry wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes. “How long do you think I’ll feel like this?”

"The worst of it will depend entirely upon your support system and your method of coping. It won't be easy, nor nearly as short as I'm sure you'd like it to be."

Predictably, Henry sighed again, unhappily. “How about you just throw her in the hospital basement and make me a forgetting potion?” he suggested, only half-joking.

Regina pulled back, cupping his face in her hands. "I...  I could make you a forgetting potion, if you were sure you wanted one."

Henry’s gaze dropped as he chewed on his lips. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “I want to forget _her_ , but… I don’t want to forget _you_.”

"That's what I did when you were a baby," Regina admitted. "If it was what you wanted, I could do it for you."

“And I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t forget, y’know… being able to kiss you?” Henry asked hopefully.

"That's entirely up to you," she answered softly. Regina stroked her thumb over his cheekbone. "You could choose to keep that memory, or I could take that away and we could start over again, so in your mind, there would be no doubt about my kissing you back, or the reasons why."

Licking his lips quickly, Henry asked, “What, uh, what _are_ your reasons why? I-I mean, when you first kissed me… why did you?”

Regina bent her neck, kissing him softly, just a light brush of her lips on his. She cleared her throat and sat back down, moving her stool closer to his. "I was curious. You'd written all of these things about me, and your words... you're so skillful, talented, and I wanted to know."

Henry blushed slightly, but smiled. After a moment, his smile faded, and he stated an obvious fact that he’d just thought of. “If I take a forgetting potion… she’ll get away with it. And she still has pictures of my notebook on her phone.”

"Yes, that's true. Still, the option is there, should you decide to use it." Regina squeezed his shoulders where her hands rested and she bit the corner of her bottom lip. "Just say the word and it's yours."

“Can I think about it?” Henry asked. “Maybe… maybe talk to Archie first? And I think I still wanna tell Ma.”

Regina nodded, moving to take one of his hands in her own. "Of course you can. And I'm not going to try to sway you either way, this is your decision and yours alone. But we can talk about it if you have questions."

Smiling, Henry leaned forward and kissed her lightly. “Thanks, Mom.” Sitting back again and pulling his plate of cooled fries and burger back to him, he took a couple bites before asking, “So how does it work? The forgetting potion?”

"Well, I took it when you were a baby, so I could care for you properly without worrying that your birth mother was the savior, so that was all I forgot about." Regina turned slightly, resting an elbow on the island. "But we could do it for something specific, you could forget the entire thing, or we could leave the knowledge that it happened, but take away the actual occurrences, so it would hopefully be less painful."

“So then, if we did that, I could still press charges if I wanted to?” Henry asked curiously.

"Yes. I'd have to do more research, because I've never made one that detailed, but I know they exist. Or have, anyway, and can."

Henry hummed thoughtfully as he ate, and finally decided, “I think we should tell Ma first, then I can talk to Archie about it, and Ma about the legal part of it, and you can research it. Does that… sound okay?”

Regina nodded again, using her free hand to squeeze his arm. "Sweetheart, this is entirely up to you. All of it, from pressing charges, to who you tell and any memory potions. We can do whatever you need."

Henry gave a shy smile and nodded. “Okay. I’m just, y’know, not really sure of anything right now.”

"That's okay. We can talk about any of it as much as you need to, but know that no matter what, you have my complete support. Making you well is my only concern. I will do everything in my power for that."

“I know. Thank you.”

Regina brushed her fingers through his hair and smiled. "Of course. And when did you want to tell Emma? Did you already schedule an appointment for it?"

Henry shook his head. “Not yet, no. I should check with her and make sure that she’s not busy before I make the appointment. But I think I want to tell her soon. Like maybe tomorrow if I can. I… kinda wanna do this fast. I mean, I’ll give it real thought and all, but I really don’t like feeling this way.”

"Very well, just let me know." Regina finished her meal quickly, thinking of how much things were going to change if Emma had a lot of questions.

~

Henry felt awkward going to school the next day, which wasn’t helped by the curious looks and murmurs following him through lit and calc as he went into the new classes. And, to make matters more stressful, he passed Gwyn a few times in the halls, the blonde girl glaring daggers at him. Finally, though, school was finished, and he made his way to Archie’s office where he was meeting with Emma and Regina.

Regina was standing with Emma outside of Archie's building, waiting for Henry to arrive. She was quiet, moreso than normal, but her thoughts were running over the possible outcomes that could result from this session with Archie.

Henry slowed a little when he saw his mothers waiting for him, and he swallowed nervously. Approaching them, he fiddled with his cast.

“Hey, kid,” Emma greeted, seeing him first and giving him a sympathetic look. “You okay?”

Shrugging, Henry shuffled his feet. “Not really,” he answered honestly. “But maybe soon.”

Regina raised one hand, squeezing his upper arm encouragingly and offering a tight smile. "Let's go up." She opened the door, letting both go inside in front of her and walking up the stairs behind them. When they were all standing outside the office door, Regina knocked.

Archie opened the door, giving the three a warm smile and waving them inside. "Please, take a seat."

Henry sat in the middle of the couch, figuring it was fitting since he was the center of attention, even if he did want to curl up in the corner. Emma sat next to him, closest to Archie’s chair, and put her hand on Henry’s shoulder, smiling encouragingly at him as Regina sat on his other side.

"Henry, you told me yesterday that you wanted to come here to discuss something with Emma," Archie started, skipping the pleasantries because he knew very well that no one in the room needed further verification that Henry was not good. "Do you want to start with anything else or just begin with that?"

Biting his lip, Henry said, his voice coming out a little higher than normal, “Can we start with a preface that I’m not a freak?”

Emma frowned deeply, turning in her seat to face her son. “I know you’re not a freak, kid. What would ever make you think that?”

"Henry, nobody here is going to judge you," Regina told him, a slight edge of warning in her tone for Emma.

Archie nodded his agreement. Holding one hand out to let Henry know he could begin when he was ready.

Shifting in nervous discomfort, Henry glanced at Emma, asking, “I, uh, left my notebook at your place. Did you… read any of it?”

Emma tilted her head. “Of course not. That’s your business. I just put it on your bed.”

Henry was torn between relief and disappointment, and he looked down. “Well, um… that’s what… Gwyn… blackmailed me with,” he admitted. “It’s, uh, my writings about… about someone I’m… attracted to.” He swallowed hard.

“Okay…” Emma’s brow furrowed again, confused.

Regina reached over, taking Henry's hand and squeezing it assuringly. "It's okay, sweetheart."

Henry clung to Regina’s hand, taking a deep breath and glancing at Emma again briefly. “It was… about Mom.”

Regina watched Emma in wait of her response, hoping the blonde would react kindly instead of cruelly.

“I… what?” Emma asked. “I thought you said it was about someone you’re attracted to?”

“Uh-huh,” Henry nodded, still not looking at her.

Emma leaned forward slightly, looking past her son at the other woman. “Regina…?”

"You're really not that dense, are you?" Regina asked, her voice snappier than she'd intended.

Archie cleared his throat and looked at Emma. "It isn't an uncommon thing, not by any stretch, and given the way things have been regarding Henry's relationship with Regina over the years, it's an entirely understandable situation."

Looking between the two other adults, then at her teenage son, Emma licked her lips as she processed that information. She thought back to her own teenage years, to the good foster homes, and the strange mix of hero worship, family, and intense attraction that she’d felt to the parents who had actually cared about her. Not to mention the strange, immediate attraction she’d felt to Mary Margaret after Henry had insisted the woman was her mother. Then she thought of Henry, of the complicated mix of family he had, of changing dynamics, forgotten memories, kidnappings, hormones, and everything else that had made up his crazy life. Slowly, she nodded. “Okay. I can understand that,” she replied finally.

Henry looked up in surprise. “Really? You… you don’t think I’m all messed up?”

Emma let out a slight laugh. “Kid, trust me… you’ve got nothin’ on me when it comes to messed up. It’s… a little weird, not gonna lie. But hell, everything in this town is a little weird, so why should this be any different, I guess.” Her gaze shifted to Regina, and she hesitantly asked, “Are you…?”

Regina raised an eyebrow, giving Emma a hard look. "Am I... what, Emma?"

“Uh…” Emma rubbed the back of her neck. “Interested… too?”

"That is my business with Henry. It is something he and I have discussed, and should he choose to share it with you, he can," she answered stiffly.

“We’ve kissed,” Henry blurted, and squeezed Regina’s hand tighter in fear that she might pull away.

Emma’s eyes widened. “You’ve kissed,” she repeated. “So… you _are_ interested, then?”

Regina didn't want to have this discussion, not with Archie in the room, and not with Henry there, mainly because she didn't want him to misinterpret anything she said. "Am I interested in kissing him? Yes. Am I interested in more? That's something we haven't discussed enough for me to tell you."

Nodding slowly, Emma pinned her gaze to Regina. “I think you and I are going to talk about this,” she said, and turned her attention to Henry when he flinched. “Hey, kid, it’s okay. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“But you think Mom has,” Henry deduced, frowning. “You think it’s wrong for her to want to kiss me.”

“Well…” Emma struggled for a moment before deciding on a way to word it. “Honestly, yes. You’re her kid, Henry. It’s one thing to have a crush on your mom, but for her to _act_ on it… I really don’t think that’s okay.”

Henry nodded miserably, shrinking back into his seat.

Regina heaved a sigh, squeezing Henry's hand again. She looked at Emma with a glare she'd rarely used on anyone besides Snow and said, "Swan, you're right, _we_ will discuss this later, but for now, you can keep your opinions to yourself."

Archie took that moment to cut in, wanting to redirect the conversation. "Why don't we get back to the reason we all are here today? Henry wanted to let you know what he was being blackmailed with, he's done that, now let us continue with that discussion."

“What else is there to discuss?” Emma asked.

"How about the fact that our son was blackmailed into a relationship with someone and, as our Sheriff, you're sitting here butting in on my relationship with him instead of discussing the law!" Regina growled. "Not that I should be surprised, since I can count on my hands the amount of days you've actually done your job since you've been sheriff."

“Seriously, Regina?” Emma asked in disbelief. “Our son was just blackmailed into a relationship and instead of being a supportive _mother_ , you’re pouncing on him when he’s at his most vulnerable!”

Henry shifted uncomfortably between them and slouched deeper into the couch, looking at the floor.

"Yes, because as someone who spent _years_ of her life being raped, that's exactly what I would do to my son!" Her eyes widened when she realized what she'd said, for Henry hadn't detailed what his relationship with Gwyn had full consisted of. Clearing her throat, Regina hissed, "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Emma’s eyes went wide as well, looking between her son and his other mother. “You were…” Shaking her head, she stood up, running her fingers through her hair. “I can’t… I can’t deal with this right now. Kid, I love you, and I’m not upset at you or anything, but this is too much for me to handle. Give me some time, okay?” She didn’t give him a chance to reply before she fled out the door.

Henry drew in a shuddering breath and clenched his jaw against the tightness in his throat as his birth mother left him when things got difficult -- again.

Regina sighed, pulling Henry against her and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she whispered into his hair. "I didn't think, I should have been more careful of what I said. I'm so sorry."

“It’s not your fault,” Henry said hoarsely, leaning into her and squeezing his eyes shut. He didn’t care that Archie was right there, he just clung to his mother.

"It's okay, my darling. I have you." Regina held him close and kissing the side of his head. "Let me take you home, we can finish this another time."

Henry nodded, whispering, “‘Kay.”

Regina looked at Archie with a grimace and moved one hand, purple smoke covering them and taking them home to the mansion. "Sweetheart, forget what she said, okay? I'm certain she's just not sure how to handle it, she'll straighten out. I'll be heading there to straighten her out myself."

Letting out a little laugh, Henry nodded. “I know. Ma doesn’t deal with emotions very well. It just… it’s like she was abandoning me because she couldn’t handle me. Like when I was born.”

Pulling back to look at him, she cupped his face and shook her head. "Then she's an idiot. You are not difficult to deal with by any means, Henry. I know it hurts, but this has to do with Emma's own issues, not you."

Henry sighed, but nodded. After a moment, he blurted out, “I feel like a wuss.”

"You are not. Why do you feel that way?" Regina moved her hands to his, squeezing them and looking carefully at his face.

“Because I’m seventeen and was literally offered all the sex I wanted, however I wanted, and **this** is my reaction.”

"Mm, so am I a wuss?" she asked, hoping he would understand her comparison.

Henry frowned, arguing, “Of course not. But it’s different for guys. I mean, I still, y’know, came. And for women, it hurts if they don’t want it. And guys are supposed to want sex all the time.”

Regina shook her head. "Darling, no." She leaned back against the couch, sighing softly. "Yes, it hurts a woman if she doesn't want it, and maybe you came, but that doesn't mean you should have enjoyed the act. As for whether or not you should want sex all the time... I have one of the healthiest sexual appetites I've ever seen, that doesn't mean I should've enjoyed what Leopold did to me."

Blushing a little at the mention of her sex drive, Henry couldn’t help but feel a little proud that he’d gotten that right in his writing. “But if I press charges, will anyone else see it that way?”

"I can only hope that people are intelligent enough to understand that rape can happen to anyone, that just because you are a young man, doesn't mean you should enjoy sex with someone you don't want it with."

“Yeah, but if they know the person I wanted it with was you…” Henry trailed off, biting his lip worriedly.

Regina cupped his cheek and leaned against him. "If they let that bother them or sway their decision, then they are complete idiots."

Sighing, Henry tilted his head and kissed her lightly. “I just don’t know what to do.”

"I wish I could tell you what to do. I wish I knew how it would all turn out."

Half-joking, Henry said, “Too bad we can’t just let Mr. Gold take care of it. Everyone knows he doesn’t have a problem with making people disappear.”

Regina furrowed her brow and shook her head. "That... isn't you, Henry." Tears welled in her eyes, ones she blinked away quickly, and she sighed. "That's me, but that's not you."

Resting his head on her shoulder, Henry sighed. “I’m sorry. I just… want it all to go away.”

"Don't apologize. This isn't your fault. I just... I hate that she did this, that she changed you." Regina kissed the top of his head, releasing shaky breaths into his hair. She didn't say anything for a long moment, but finally, "If that's what you want..."

Henry was quiet, and even as he thought about it, guilt welled in him, and he shook his head, whispering, “No… I couldn’t do that. Even to her.”

Kissing his head again, Regina nodded. "That's my boy." She paused, releasing a heavy exhale. "I need to go talk to Emma."

“Okay,” Henry agreed, sitting up straight. “I’ll get my homework done. Do you think you could get Granny’s for dinner? I know we ate from there yesterday at lunch, but I want lasagna, and if you’re at Ma’s a long time, there won’t be time for you to make it.” He gave her a hopeful smile.

"I should punish you for even thinking Granny's can come second to mine." Regina pressed a soft kiss to his temple and winked. "Yes, I will stop there for dinner. I love you." Standing from the couch, she sighed when she realized her car was still in town.

“I love you, too,” Henry said with a grin. “And it’s a very distant second. Nowhere close, but marginally better than nothing.”

"Call if you need me and I'll come home right away."

Henry nodded. “I will.”

~

It took Regina twenty minutes to find Emma, and only by chance at David's suggestion, when she checked the station, that she should check by the beach. She walked up to her, having found her sitting on the hood of her bug, and leaned against the car facing away from her. "Good job hurting Henry even more, Emma. You are lucky I have changed and that he would be upset if I hurt you."

Emma squinted and glanced at Regina. “Lay off. Henry knows I love him and it wasn’t about him.”

"Oh? Does he?" Regina shook her head and looked down at the ground. "Is that why he said it felt like how you'd abandoned him as a baby?"

Flinching, Emma asked, “He said that?”

Turning to face the blonde, Regina sighed. "Of course he did. You found out he was raped and left because _you_ couldn't handle it. What the hell was that, Emma? You couldn't be bothered to care enough about your _son_."

“ _Don’t_ ,” Emma warned, glaring at the other woman. “There are a lot of things I’ve lived through that I thought Henry would never have to. Living in jail. Stealing to eat. Living off food stamps. Of all of that, the very _last_ I would’ve expected was being raped. And to find out that my… assumptions, or naiveness or whatever, was so dead wrong… It feels like I’m being ripped apart inside, okay? I don’t know how… I don’t know what to **do**.”

"You be there for him!" Regina yelled. "You put _your_ shit aside and help him! You don't think it makes me sick? I spent _years_ consistently being raped. Multiple times a week. Grow up and deal with it!"

Emma planted her hands on either side of herself, shifting to face the other woman straight on. “Yeah, you know what, let’s talk about you. Let’s talk about this fucked up thing you’re doing with our _son_.”

"That's not your business," Regina answered stiffly.

“Bullshit,” Emma snapped. “I’m his mother. And so, might I add, are **you**! What the fuck are you _thinking_ , Regina?!”

Clenching her jaw, Regina turned away from the other woman, staring out into the water. "I'm thinking that he has been through something awful, and I want him to be happy. I want-- _need_ to comfort him, to make him better. I was thinking that one little kiss wouldn't hurt, it would give him something tangible that didn't churn his stomach for how intimacy should be." She looked over at Emma, knowing that her face would be flushed and her eyes would be rimmed red. "I was thinking that our son is a beautifully talented writer, and the things he wrote... you know the last time I was wanted was by Robin? So if you want to judge me, so be it, but you're the one who ruined my chance, so you can fuck off if you think you're going to butt in here."

Emma frowned deeply, startled and perturbed by the other woman’s profanity. “And you think giving him false hope is going to help? You’re bitching at me about hurting him, but isn’t that what you’re doing? You’re just putting it off until later and making it hurt more when he realizes the truth.”

Regina let out an incredulous scoff, shaking her head. "You know, I've discussed with Henry already that I can't promise him what I'd be okay with, so no, I'm giving him no false hope, but again, feel free to mind your own business."

Eyes widening, Emma stared at Regina. “You’re considering it,” she realized. “You’re _actually_ considering a relationship with your own **son**.”

Looking away once more, Regina twisted her lips to the side and raised her eyebrows. "Maybe I am."

“That’s so wrong on so many levels.”

"Good thing it's none of your business."

“I beg to differ,” Emma countered. “You’re going to stay away from Henry like that. No kissing, no considering, nothing.”

"And what exactly are you going to do?" Regina growled, arching one eyebrow challengingly.

“Everyone in town would back me up if they knew what you were doing,” Emma pointed out.

"Oh good, spread more of your son's private business around, as if there won't be enough." Regina glared at the other woman, wanting to throw fire at her where she sat.

Scowling, Emma argued, “I don’t want to hurt him, but if it means sparing him greater hurt down the road? Yeah, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

"And how are you going to make sure nothing happens, hm?" Regina goaded. "He's certainly not going to want to stay with you, now that he feels you _abandoned him_. _Again_. **_I_** make him feel safe. **_You_** make him feel uncared for."

Emma flinched inadvertently and looked away, muttering, “Just… fuck off, Regina. Leave me alone.”

Regina chuckled darkly, leaning forward so her face was barely half a foot away from Emma's. "You make this right. You make him feel like you care, because if you don't I will destroy you."

Pushing the other woman back, Emma turned away, looking back to the ocean and not responding.

Regina headed to Granny's, her thoughts filling with all the ways she wanted to kill Emma. She ordered their food with a sigh, waiting almost half an hour for the order to come up. When Ruby brought it to her, she headed to her car and went home to Henry.

Henry was back in Regina’s study when she got home, studiously catching up on what he’d missed from the day before. When he heard the door open, he called out, “Hey, Mom. I’m in your office.”

Heading back to her study, Regina detoured to the kitchen for silverware, then continued to find Henry. She brought the food in, setting it on the coffee table between the two couches and moved to stand behind him at the desk, resting her hands lightly on his shoulders.

Leaning back, Henry looked up at her, giving her a small smile. “How’d it go?”

"Fine, sweetheart." Regina returned his smile, squeezing his shoulders and telling him to eat before his food got cold. She moved to one of the couches, sitting down and pulling out both of their food containers.

Henry smiled in relief, and tossed his pencil to the desk, immediately getting up and joining his mother on the couch. “We’re eating in here?” he asked, surprised at the mix of lasagna and white furniture.

Regina hummed. "I think you're old enough that I can trust you not to spill your food." She opened her own container with a club sandwich and side salad. There was no desire in her to eat, her nerves were too jumbled from the conversation with Emma, but she forced a few bites down, then set her food back on the table and leaned back against the couch.

Watching her curiously as he ate, Henry waited until he finished before putting his empty container and fork down and leaning against her. “It didn’t go as well as you want me to think,” he guessed.

Regina looked over at him, sitting up and shaking her head. "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it."

“You shouldn’t have to,” Henry protested quietly, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Regina let her hand fall to his back, gently rubbing her hand up and down. "That's arguable, but I'll do it whether or not I should have to."

“I love you, Mom,” Henry said simply, tilting his head and kissing the corner of her jaw. “And no matter how screwed up Ma thinks it is, I’m glad that this is okay.”

Regina lowered her head and pressed her forehead to his. "I love you, too. More than anything, Henry, and what you want is my only priority, so Emma can dislike this as much as she wants, but it isn't her place to decide."

“What you want is important, too,” Henry pointed out. “Just as important as what I want. I don’t want to be like, like Gwyn, or Grandma’s dad.”

"I know, my love. It is one of the reasons you are the best person I've ever known." Regina tilted her chin forward and brushed his lips with hers, then nuzzled her nose against his.

Henry’s face heated, and his lips parted in a slow, shy smile, which he bit his lip against.

Regina pulled away, looking at him questioningly. "What is it?"

“You’ve… never called me that before,” Henry replied, flushing further.

"Oh. No, I suppose I haven't." Regina pulled one of his arms up, leaning into his side. "You don't have to be so shy with me, you know."

“I just… wasn’t expecting that,” Henry whispered, biting his lip again. “I… don’t know what to expect, or what everything means.”

Nodding, Regina chewed her lip and looked up at him. "I don't know what is okay and what will bother you. I don't want to upset you, or hurt you. Tell me what you want right now, and we'll discuss how we feel about it."

Henry laughed a little, an unhappy sound. “What I want? I, I _want_ everything. But I know I can’t have it. And even if I got it, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t… react well, in my head.”

"Then tell me what you want that we can start with slowly, something that won't mess so much with your head."

“C-could I maybe… touch your skin?” Henry asked hesitantly. “Under your shirt? N-not your, I mean, just like, your back and sides. I’ve… never done that before.”

Regina nodded. "Okay. We can see how that works."

Grateful that it was his casted arm already over Regina’s shoulder, Henry tentatively brought his other hand to her side, fiddling with her shirt for a moment before slowly pulling it from where it was tucked into her slacks, his fingers slipping under the hem and gently grazing the soft skin of her side.

Humming softly, she turned her face up to his and gently kissed him. Tentative as the touch felt, his fingers were warm and felt nice.

As he returned the kiss, Henry began to relax, sliding under the shirt so he could press his entire hand against her skin, stroking lightly.

Regina brought her hand to his chest, pressing her palm flat against him. She didn't mind his slow exploration, instead she found it sweet.

Henry couldn’t believe how soft and smooth her skin was, and he sighed against her lips as he curved his hand around her side, sliding to the small of her back. It was, literally, a fantasy come true to simply stroke her bare skin like this, one of the few in his notebook that Gwyn hadn’t been interested in recreating, and as his body began to react, he automatically thought of other fantasies he’d had. Which, in turn, brought unfortunate memories with them, and he yanked himself away, squeezing his eyes shut and bending forward, arms wrapping around his stomach as he gasped for breath and tried to quell the rising nausea.

Regina's eyes snapped open when he jerked away and she watched him with a sickness in her own stomach. She hesitated, not wanting to touch him and bring about more pain, but she moved forward, ready to help. Shifting his legs, she pushed down until both of his feet were flat on the ground, and she spoke in an even voice. "Breathe, Henry. I'm right here, you're safe, I promise."

“I _hate_ her,” Henry hissed viciously through clenched teeth as he began to calm down, and he tilted his head to look up at Regina with dark, furious eyes.

Regina returned his gaze sadly, lifting one hand to touch him, then dropping it halfway. "I know, sweetheart. I do, too."

Unwinding one arm from around himself, Henry reached out and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together and using the contact to try and ground himself.

"Just breathe. I'm right here, you're safe." She repeated the words like a mantra, over and over, hoping they would help him. Regina made no further move to touch him, just holding his hand and rubbing her thumb over the back of it.

After a long time of sitting there, listening to her voice, Henry pulled away, standing up slowly and murmuring, “I’m gonna go to bed.”

Looking up at him, Regina nodded. "Okay. If you need me, come to me, no matter what, all right?"

Henry nodded, leaving his homework, even though he wasn’t actually finished, and trudged up the stairs, feeling heavy.

After he left, Regina sat there for a long moment. She was so angry at that stupid girl for hurting him the way she did. With a heavy sigh, she got up and cleared away their mess, taking the garbage and dishes to the kitchen, then headed up to bed.

~

The next day, Henry again found himself knocking on Archie’s office door after school, sighing deeply at the fourth consecutive day of seeing the therapist.

Archie opened his door, surprised to see Henry again so soon, but simultaneously not surprised at all. "Henry, come in, please."

“Hey, Archie,” Henry greeted, stepping into the office and slumping down on the couch.

"Forgive me for saying, but you don't look well. Has something further happened?" the therapist said gently, feeling for the boy.

Henry shrugged. “Mom’s mad at Ma for yesterday, I had a flashback last night and almost threw up on Mom, and I’m pretty sure I accidentally used magic in gym class and exploded a punching bag.”

Archie nodded slowly, taking in everything Henry said. "Which would you like to talk about first?"

Shrugging again, Henry muttered, “Doesn’t matter.”

"All right. Let's start with your flashback. What brought it on?"

“She asked what I wanted,” Henry said, slouching into the couch. “Mom, I mean. Obviously. I said I wanted everything but know I can’t have it and wouldn’t be able to deal with it even if I could, so she asked what small thing I wanted. I asked to touch her skin, under her shirt. Not her boobs or anything, just like her back and side, just to touch her skin. She said okay, and I did, and we were kissing, and I started to get turned on, and I thought about how it was pretty much the only fantasy I’d written down that didn’t get screwed up, and that made me think about _her_ ,” he spat the word with more venom than he’d ever used before, “and then I started freaking out.”

Archie nodded, jotting down a few notes and looking back up at Henry. "I can understand how your train of thought would lead there, I'm sorry you have to deal with that." Leaning forward, he set down his pen and rested his elbow on his knees, steepling his fingers together. "I can offer you some techniques so you can try another time and perhaps have different results, or we can further discuss what happened to you and attempt to work you through it."

“Mom offered to make me a forgetting potion.”

"And is that something you're considering?"

Henry nodded silently.

"How soon would you be doing that?" Archie asked, hoping it could be a realistic solution.

“I dunno yet,” Henry admitted. “It depends on if I wanna press charges, and how that would go. I need to talk to Ma about that part, but…”

"You want to talk to Emma about the forgetting potion or pressing charges?"

“Pressing charges,” Henry clarified. “Maybe both. Mom said she might be able to make it specific enough that I remember _that_ it happened, but not the details, so I’d have to ask Ma how that’d work if I wanna press charges.”

"I don't normally condone dishonesty, Henry, you know that. That said, if, say, only the four of us knew of that detail, would it have to have an effect on the case?"

“I don’t know,” Henry lifted his shoulders in a half-shrug. “That’s what I’d have to talk to Ma about.”

"Okay. In the meantime, if you would like, I can give you ideas for overcoming flashbacks when you're trying to... uh, when you're acting out your... intimate moments," Archie said, shifting in his seat.

Henry grimaced slightly, assuming, “You think it’s screwed up, too, don’t you?”

"I don't, Henry, no. As I said yesterday with Emma, it isn't that uncommon for teenage boys to find themselves sexually attracted to their mothers."

“But the reverse?”

"That isn't my place to say, but Regina can make her own decisions, and I trust her more than anyone when it comes to your well-being," Archie explained.

Studying the therapist, Henry slowly nodded. “Okay.”

"I just... I watched you grow up, Henry. And while I know you're old enough to make your own decisions about your personal life, I find it makes me nostalgic of when you were just a little boy, coming to my office and insisting all the fairytale characters from your storybook were real."

Henry couldn’t help but grin a little at that. “I guess that’s understandable,” he agreed.

Archie gave Henry a small smile, then asked, "We can continue discussing that, or we could discuss you accidentally using magic."

“Maybe get the basics of everything out of the way before getting into the details of anything?” Henry suggested.

"Of course. Tell me what happened at school."

A little sheepish, Henry explained, “Well, because my arm’s broken, I can’t participate in gym. So I sit on the bleachers and do book work. I was watching a guy training with the punching bag, and he was really going to town on it. And I started to picture the bag as, y’know, _her_. And… after a bit, it just kind of exploded.”

Giving a nod, Archie thought for a moment. "I've seen situations where people with magical abilities have used magic accidentally in moments of intense anger or pain. As far as anything deeper, I think you would have to see Mr. Gold or your mom about it, because magic is not my forte."

Henry nodded. “I told Mom yesterday that I kind of want to drop a few hints to Mr. Gold about what happened and let him ‘take care of it’ and I could just take the forgetting potion and not have to worry about it.”

Shocked, Archie raised his eyebrows. "You mean, take care of _her_?"

A little sheepishly, Henry nodded again.

"And what did she say about that?"

“She said it wasn’t like me. That it was like her, but not like me. And she asked if that’s really what I wanted.”

"I have to agree that it doesn't sound like something you would want. How did you respond to her?"

“I thought about it. Then I started to feel guilty and said no. But now I’m thinking about it again,” Henry admitted. “It’d just be so much _easier_.”

Archie felt for him, he did, but he couldn't condone that. "Killing someone... Henry, that would darken your heart, and you are one of the few people in this town with a pure heart."

“ _I_ wouldn’t be doing it, though. I’d just… let Mr. Gold know that this girl hurt me really badly.”

"Intent is enough, Henry," Archie countered, searching for an example. "Snow didn't actually kill Cora, she cursed her heart, but your mother put it into her body, your mother killed her own mother, but who do you hold responsible?"

Sighing, Henry nodded. “I know. I just want it all to be over. I want her to be punished, but I don’t want to hurt anymore.”

"It sounds like the forgetting potion will end up being your best option."

“Yeah, probably. I should talk to my moms about it, then, I guess.”

"Do you know what in particular Regina was upset with Emma for yesterday?" Archie asked, remembering the first thing Henry had mentioned when he arrived.

Henry shifted uncomfortably, looking down to study his shoes.

"Henry?"

“I… told Mom that it felt like Ma abandoned me,” Henry said quietly. “Like when I was born.”

"I can understand it would feel that way. I'm sorry you felt like that, Henry."

Nodding, Henry added, “Mom went to go talk to Ma, and when she came back, she said it went fine, but she was agitated. And… I haven’t actually talked to Ma since she left here yesterday.”

"Do you think you should try talking to her without Regina around? Maybe she's uncomfortable with Regina because of the new information regarding the two of you?"

“Probably… but… I don’t like not being with Mom. I know that’s like… lame and wussy and all that, because I’m seventeen, but it’s true.”

"It isn't lame or wussy to feel that way; she's your mother, she's been there for every hard time you've gone through."

“And she’s becoming more than that,” Henry added quietly. “She said… even if I take a full forgetting potion, that makes me forget _all_ of this, everything from Gwyn finding my notebook, that she’s still willing to… see what happens, with us. That I could have my first kiss with her.”

Archie nodded. "I'm glad you may get the opportunity to have things go in a manner you would prefer."

“Yeah,” Henry agreed. “I still don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I’m pretty decided that the forgetting potion is gonna happen at least in some way.”

"Well if you need to take it here, if you think that might help your reaction to it, let me know. Otherwise, I'm sure Regina will take care of you." Archie tilted his head, looking down at his notes. "Is there anything else you want to discuss?"

“Thanks, Archie.” Henry shook his head in answer to the question. “I think that was it. Well… any suggestions for talking to Ma?”

"Your best bet is to be patient with her unwillingness to accept Regina's changing part in your life. As for discussing pressing charges, I think she'll probably agree you should, so listen to her opinion thoroughly if you ask for it." Archie added another note to his pad of paper, then set it down with his pen.

Nodding, Henry sighed. “Yeah. I can do that. At least it’s the weekend now so I don’t have to deal with weird looks in school.”

"Would you ever consider continuing through a homeschooling program?"

Henry tilted his head curiously. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

Archie nodded, folding his hands together. "I almost didn't ask because I wasn't sure if you would worry that it seemed like running away, but I think that if you wanted to, it would be a good option for you. You're bright, self motivated, you have a mother who would keep you on top of your work. It's at least something you could consider."

“Yeah… There’s a lot I’m thinking about lately,” Henry half-chuckled. “Guess that’s what happens when your life turns upside-down, huh?”

Giving him a sympathetic smile, the therapist nodded again. "You have a lot of decisions to make, and none of them can be made for you, unfortunately."

“Sometimes I miss the days when they all were.”

"That's understandable. Especially when you're going through something this difficult. But only you know what is best for you."

“Mom’s pretty good at that, too,” Henry added, finally standing up. “I should probably get home. Thanks again, Archie.”

Standing, Archie walked him to the door, reminding him to come anytime he needed to talk.

~

Henry decided to go by the station before heading home, and when he stepped inside, he couldn’t help but grin at the sight of David and Emma sitting side-by-side, each with a small mound of wadded up paper beside them.

“Yes!” David exclaimed, his hands raising into the air as he scored a basket.

Emma snorted. “Don’t get too cocky, it bounced off the rim.”

“Still two points,” David said, turning to look at her with a grin. Over her shoulder, he noticed his grandson, and he cheerfully greeted, “Hey, Henry.”

“Uh, hey,” Henry replied, feeling a little awkward that David was there. “Hey Ma, can we talk?”

Emma's eyes dropped to the floor and she nodded slowly. "Yeah, all right." Standing, she motioned for him to follow her to her office.

Once the door was closed behind them, Henry sighed. “So, um, I need some legal advice. Like, y’know, if I should press charges, and how that’ll work, and if I can still do it if I take a forgetting potion.”

"A... forgetting potion?" Emma sighed, leaning back in her chair. "You're going to forget like, everything that happened?"

Henry shrugged. “Mom said there were different options. I could have one that makes me forget everything, or she’s been researching how to make one that will just make me forget the details of… you know. Where I’d still remember _that_ it happened, but not the specifics.”

"But you can take one that would let you forget you two kissed?" Emma countered automatically, hopefully.

Shifting his jaw, Henry took a deep breath before replying. “That was my concern, but Mom said she could make it so I remember that, or she can erase it and we can start over, without the whole thing looming over it.”

Emma's jaw dropped and she shook her head. "No. Absolutely not! I will put her ass in jail, Henry. She has no business giving into your desires. It is perverse of her, and I will kill her if I have to."

“In other news,” Henry droned in a monotone, “one of my classmates blackmailed me into being her boyfriend, so maybe let’s talk about that.”

"I'm not kidding, Henry. This behavior is unacceptable. She is taking advantage of your vulnerability."

“No she’s not,” Henry argued. “And I’m legal age, so there’s not really anything you can do. And if you _did_ do anything, I can guarantee I would hate you for the rest of my life. So maybe we can talk about pressing charges against Gwyn now?”

Emma clenched her jaw and nodded. "Fine. Tell me what happened."

Suddenly having second thoughts at the prospect of having to go over it, again, Henry slouched in his chair. “When I write, I make sure to not put enough detail to make it obvious who it’s about,” he explained. “Or, well, I thought I didn’t. Turns out if you read it all at once, it’s actually really obvious. Gwyn found my notebook and read it. She came up to me after class and suggested studying together, and I said yes, ‘cuz it’s calc and I need all the help I can get. After the test, I thanked her, and she asked if I wanted to go to a movie. I said no, and she said okay, and asked me to stop by her house after school because she had a book of mine.

“When I got there, she had my notebook, and she said she really wanted to go to a movie with me. She wouldn’t give me the book, so I agreed, and she gave it back. Then I stood her up the next day. She called, and told me she took pictures of the pages and would release them if I didn’t take her out and be her boyfriend. She said she wanted to do the things I wrote about. I said I didn’t want to have sex with her, that I wanted my first time to be with someone I cared about. She said she’d think about it, but until then, we’d go to the movies.” Heaving a sigh, he finished, “That was the start of it.”

Emma's stomach churned, she didn't want to hear the story, not at all, but she also couldn't let the first time she heard it be in front of anyone else. "Okay. Go on."

“So… I took her out,” Henry said. “We went to the movies once, but mainly she had me drive out to the woods and park. She just wanted to kiss at first, but… well, like I said, I got to third base in my car. And that was just a week later.”

Shaking her head, Emma leaned forward and sighed. "I think I can figure the rest out from there." She picked up a pen just to have something to busy her hands with. "Okay, so right now, I'm giving you advice as your mom, because if you're telling me this as Sheriff, I'm legally obligated to make a report for it and the state presses charges regardless of if you want to or not." Emma paused, considering how to say what he likely wouldn't want to hear.

"The thing is, kid, that by definition, yes, she raped you. But... it's going to be a hard sell among your peers. Kids don't understand that rape isn't always physically forceful or taking, nor do many believe that guys can be raped. Do I believe you should press charges? Yes. I want this girl brought down and out of my town, but like I said, that's for your peers to decide if you take legal action."

“If I press charges, they’ll all know what’s in my notebook, won’t they?” Henry asked, grimacing.

"They will." Emma sighed and leaned back again. "I don't know how people felt about incest in the Enchanted Forest, but it isn't generally accepted here."

Henry nodded slowly. “Do you think maybe Grandpa would be able to help? Like with the Enchanted Forest legal stuff? Because let’s face it, a trial wouldn’t be totally Maine law.”

"Maybe. Do you want me to get him? He's clearly not busy," Emma said, looking to see David practicing trashball still. "Or would you rather discuss it with him another time?"

“I just wanna get everything done as soon as possible. Or at least _started_.”

Nodding, Emma stood and called her father into the office to join them. After giving him a cliff's notes version of Henry's story, she asked him what would be done in the Enchanted Forest.

David shifted uncomfortably in the seat he'd taken, looking over at Henry sadly. "Well uh... I never heard of male rape until we came here, whether that's because women were denied to have that much power or what, I don't know, but it definitely wasn't recognized there."

Henry sighed deeply, hunching forward and staring down at the floor. “So basically, I press charges and all my shit gets aired in public and the whole town finds out, and on top of that, she goes free.”

"Not... uh, necessarily," Emma answered. "You're pretty well liked in this town, and from what I've found out about her, she doesn't have many friends. There's a good chance it could become a popularity contest."

“Oh great. Even better. My mental health hinges on how many people like me more than her. I wonder how much that number’s gonna change when they realize she was blackmailing me with erotica I wrote about my own mother?”

"I don't know what to tell you Henry. The legal system isn't as just as it could be, and I don't want to see you suffer." She sighed again, rubbing her eyes for a moment. "And even if you go through all this and take a potion to forget, it isn't going to change people's reactions to you."

Shaking his head, Henry growled. “It’s not fucking worth it. I just need to get those pictures deleted, then I can take the potion, and she can’t say shit, because she has no proof.”

David frowned. "Henry, you've been abused, are you sure that's the route you want to go?"

“I don’t know, okay?!” Henry exclaimed, jumping up suddenly. “I can’t win either way! Even if she’s convicted and I take the forgetting potion, I’m still the freak who wants his mom!”

"All right. Just, you know, take a day to think it over. In the meantime, I think I may have gotten an anonymous complaint that Gwyn was... uh... stealing school files. David and I will have to go confiscate her computer and phone to have a look," Emma muttered, looking down at her desk.

Henry just nodded, stalking out of the station and finally heading home.

~

When Regina heard the door open late Friday afternoon, much later than she had expected Henry home, she made her way out of her study to greet him. "Henry..." Regina said sadly, once she saw his defeated expression.

“Hey,” Henry sighed in greeting. “So basically it’s gonna be difficult to impossible to get a conviction if I press charges, and I just want it all over. Ma and Grandpa are faking an anonymous complaint to get the pictures from Gwyn, and I just want it all to go away.”

"Okay. I was going to discuss that with you. I'm certain I found how to do it, so we can do whichever potion you'd like," Regina said, cupping his cheeks and pulling him to her for a hug. "I'm sorry it isn't looking good for legal actions, sweetheart."

Wrapping his arms around her tightly, Henry pressed his face against her neck. “I wanna remember that it happened, but I don’t wanna remember the details,” he murmured. “I wanna remember that she’s a terrible person, even if nobody else knows it.”

Regina nodded against him, brushing a kiss to his cheek as she moved her arms around his shoulders. "Okay. Do you want to do it now?"

“Yeah,” Henry whispered, not caring that he might be running away from the issue instead of facing it. Running was underrated.

"All right, darling." Regina pulled out of the hug and dropped her hand to take his. "Let's go to my vault."

Clutching her hand, Henry nodded. “Okay.” He followed her out to the car and it wasn’t long before they were pushing aside her father’s coffin, stepping down into the dimly lit vault. “It’s not gonna take a long time to make?” he asked curiously. The only time he’d witnessed her making a potion was the sleeping curse, and that had taken a couple hours.

"No. This is a fairly quick potion, just a few ingredients. I don't even need my chemistry set, just a chalice." She led him into the small room that had most of her potion ingredients and magical items. Regina motioned him to a low chest, telling him to sit while she worked.

Henry sat, watching her work and she poured ingredients into the chalice and idling scratching at his arm at the edge of his cast.

After Regina put together all the necessary ingredients, she waved a hand over the top of the mixture. She brought it to Henry, sitting down beside him on the chest. "Here you go," she said softly, holding it out to him.

“Do I have to do anything in particular, or just drink it?” Henry asked, taking the chalice and looking down into the smoke drifting over the edges.

"Just drink it. I took care of the particulars." Regina took his free hand in hers, squeezing encouragingly.

Henry nodded, swallowing nervously. Taking a deep breath, he brought the chalice to his lips and closed his eyes, downing the concoction. He could feel it drifting away, the memories, the aching pain, the sharp edge of hatred. When he opened his eyes, he felt like he could breathe again, and he grinned at his mother.

Answering his grin with a soft smile, Regina asked, "Better?"

He responded by putting the chalice down and cupping her jaw, pulling her into a deep kiss.

His initiative was surprising, so it took a moment before Regina brought her hands up to his shoulders.

Sliding his other arm around her, Henry held her tight against him, groaning happily into her mouth.

Regina held him tightly to her, but slowed the kiss and pulled away. "I take it that's a yes?"

“Oh yeah,” Henry chuckled, grinning. “It’s so weird. Like… I have no idea what happened, just that Gwyn found my notebook and blackmailed me into being her boyfriend, but when I try to think about what we did… it’s all blank.”

"Good. I'm pleased you don't have to deal with the memories." Regina slid her hands down his arms to take his hands into her own. "Let's go home."

Henry nodded in agreement, standing and pulling Regina up with him. “Yeah, let’s go home.”

Regina drove home, thoughts filling her mind of what Henry would want, now that he wasn't plagued every time they touched.

Back at home, Henry tugged on Regina’s hand, making her face him. “Hey, you know, I still remember our conversations. When you said that you didn’t know what else you’d be comfortable with? I’m still happy just kissing you.”

Giving a small smile in response, Regina nodded. "I know, sweetheart. We have many conversations to have."

“Anything you want to talk about, I’m willing,” Henry replied right away.

"I know. I think we need to perhaps discuss anything that could become an issue, if we do fall into a... romantic relationship. Sex is different, I mean, I do think I need just a little time and a few stages before I could possibly have sex with you," Regina explained, "but sex is easier than having a relationship."

Henry’s eyes widened inadvertently, and he felt his pants tighten a bit at the thought of actually having sex with his mother. “You would… have sex with me?” he asked, licking his lips quickly.

"For now we'll discuss it," Regina answered slowly. "I still look at you and see the little boy I raised, despite the fact that I can also look at you and see a young man who is attractive and intelligent."

“I can live with that,” Henry nodded. “That… yeah. That’s definitely, uh, fantasy material,” he admitted.

Regina chuckled lightly, giving a shake of her head and turning away to head toward to kitchen. "Dinner. I'm going to make dinner."

“Can I ogle--I mean, watch?” Henry grinned boyishly.

"If you must," she answered playfully, entering the kitchen and moving to gather ingredients for an easy pasta.

“I must,” Henry answered cheerfully, following her and leaning against the counter as he watched her fluid movements around the kitchen as she cooked.

Regina was happy to have him back to his normal, optimistic self. It had nearly killed her to see him so upset for so long. "You could work on homework or something, so you could at least pretend you aren't staring," she muttered, setting a pan of water on the stove to boil.

Chuckling, Henry replied, “That doesn’t sound near as fun. I’d much rather show you how beautiful I think you are.”

Turning to look at him, Regina shook her head. "Then at least come help."

“Okay.” Henry rounded the island to join her, sliding his hand up her side as he rested his chin on her shoulder and asked, “What am I helping you with?”

Regina turned her head, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Get the colander, and you can brown the meat while I start the sauce."

Henry turned his head a moment too late to catch her lips with his, so he kissed her cheek in return as he went to the cupboard to grab the colander and place it in the sink before returning to the stove.

Biting her lip in thought, Regina picked up the package of meat she'd retrieved and handed it to him. She grabbed his chin with her free hand and pulled him toward her, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

Henry smiled against her lips and returned the kiss, eager but controlled.

When Regina pulled away, she smiled at him and patted his cheek lightly. "I missed you."

“If I hadn’t ‘gone away,’” Henry said, remembering his behavior and moods over the past month, “I wouldn’t be able to kiss you now.”

"Perhaps not, but it doesn't change the fact that I hated seeing you so upset." Regina turned, opening two jars of tomato sauce and pouring them into the pan in front of her.

Smirking a little as he stirred the meat, Henry murmured, “Well… you _could_ make it up to me, if you wanted.”

Regina pinned him with a half-hearted glare. "Oh can I?"

Glancing at her, Henry nodded with a sly grin. “You can. Y’know, for reference. If you decide you want to.” Just to tease her a little more, he winked.

"And how do you propose I would go about doing that?"

“If you’re stuck for ideas, you could read through my notebook again.”

"Talking first, darling." Regina added a few seasonings to her sauce, then pointed to his pan. "If you burn that, you'll have to starve."

Chuckling, Henry turned his attention back to the pan, stirring the meat to brown it evenly.

They worked easily with each other, and by time Regina was mixing the spaghetti with the meat sauce, she felt half starved. She pulled out two plates, dishing some for herself and handing him the pasta spoon. Pouring herself a glass of wine, she then carried it, and her food, to sit at the island.

Dishing up his own plate, Henry followed, sitting next to her. Without warning, he found himself leaning over to hug her, murmuring into her ear, “Thank you for making the potion for me, Mom.”

Regina turned her face to him, she pressed her forehead to his and nodded. "You don't have to thank me, Henry."

“Yes I do,” he corrected quietly. “You saved me.”

"And I would save you a thousand times over, Henry. You are my everything, you have been since you were three weeks old. Saving you was the least I could do after not protecting you," Regina countered.

“You can’t protect someone against something you don’t know about,” Henry pointed out, sitting up straight again. “And I didn’t want you to know.”

Regina shook her head. "I should have done something when I first noticed your behavior. I could have done something."

“I think you tried,” Henry said, taking a bite of his dinner as he thought about it.

"Not early enough and not hard enough." Regina turned her attention to her plate, picking up her fork and spinning some spaghetti onto it.

After swallowing a mouthful, Henry assured her, “I don’t blame you. And I don’t want you to blame yourself. You’ve been the most supportive, and you fixed it. That’s the next best thing to going back in time.”

Regina took a bite, chewing and swallowing with pushing away the arguments she had. "I love you, Henry."

Henry smiled happily at the end of her protests and easily replied, “I love you too, Mom.”

~

Regina and Henry cleaned up their dinner mess, taking to the living room for a movie after they had finished. The movie was over, the credits playing slowly, and she was just sitting there, still beside him, close enough to be considered cuddling. She wasn't ready to leave him, and she didn't know what he might want from her, so Regina stayed put, waiting for him to say.

“That was a good movie,” Henry said, breaking the silence and briefly tightening the arm he had wrapped around her, squeezing her closer.

"It was," she agreed softly, smiling and turning her face to look at him. "How are you feeling?"

Grinning, Henry kissed the tip of her nose and answered, “Good. How are _you_ feeling?”

"I'm good if you're good." Regina pressed her forehead to his jaw, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I just need you safe and happy."

“I am,” Henry murmured into her hair. “And that goes both ways, you know.”

Raising one hand, she cupped his cheek and pulled back. "You're a sweetheart, Henry."

“I just care about you,” he replied simply. “You’re the most important person in my life.”

"Likewise." Letting out a soft sigh, Regina leaned back against the couch, taking one of his hands into her own. "I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

“It wasn’t your fault,” Henry repeated insistently. “You didn’t _let_ Gwyn hurt me, she just did it. And you fixed it. You’re my hero.” He smiled, wiggling his fingers between hers.

"Be that as it may, I'll never let another person hurt you again. Never," she vowed, squeezing his fingers with hers.

Pulling her closer, Henry nuzzled her hair and replied, “I can live with that. You know, I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you, either.”

Regina pressed her face against his neck and nodded. "I know, Henry, but I'm just fine."

“So am I,” he whispered into her ear, smiling and nipping lightly.

Deciding not to argue with him, she pressed a soft kiss to his neck, then pulled back again. "I... We should talk."

“I thought that’s what we were doing.”

"Henry," Regina said warningly.

“What?” he chuckled, shrugging innocently. “We were!”

"Sweetheart, please? This is a difficult enough topic as it is." Regina pulled away just slightly, giving herself a better view of him.

“Okay,” Henry agreed more calmly, nodding. “I’m sorry.”

Pressing a quick, but soft, kiss to his lips, Regina sighed quietly. "I think we should figure out what we're doing before there are any... _different_ attachments."

Henry tilted his head curiously. “I’m… not actually sure what you mean by that,” he admitted.

"What you want from me... I mean."

“I want whatever you’re comfortable with.”

"Okay." Regina considered her words for a moment. "But just pretend that I'm comfortable with anything. Tell me what you want."

Henry considered making a joke about how she’d read his notebook, but he refrained, and simply said, “To be with you.”

"There are different manners." Heaving a sigh, she bit back a snarky remark. "I need you to give me more than that, Henry. I need you to explain what you want from me."

“If everything was on the table?” Henry asked, waiting for her nod, and continuing when he got it. “I would take you upstairs and fuck you and make love to you and everything in between. I’d sleep in your bed, and if I was lucky, it would become our bed. And we would create a deep, meaningful relationship between us, beyond mother and son, and never need anyone else.”

Regina let out a shaky breath, crooking her jaw as she considered his words. "And... if we started some of it, and I decided I couldn't... I couldn't be that for you, you wouldn't hate me?" she asked, her voice smaller than she cared for. "I just don't want to give you false hope only to find out I can't do that."

Cupping her cheek, Henry drew her into a slow, reassuring kiss. “I could never hate you. As long as you’re in my life, I’m happy. If we started something, and you realized you couldn’t do it, I’d understand. Even this,” he kissed her again lightly, “is something I never expected to happen. Being with you is a privilege, a gift. Even if you say yes right now, and changed your mind later, I’d still be grateful for what you’ve already given me.”

She nodded, her dark eyes holding his as she brought one hand up to hook on his wrist. "Okay." Regina tilted her chin, kissing him softly, just a brush of her lips against his. "There are a few other things we should lay out, just so they're out there."

“Anything,” Henry agreed, smiling and speaking against her lips.

"You know Emma isn't ever going to be okay with it. She's your mother, too, and I don't... there was a time I would have gladly had you not care if she was in your life, but she's important to you."

Henry nodded in agreement, waiting to see where this was going.

"I don't want you to ruin your relationship with her over me."

“Whether or not my relationship with Ma is ruined is totally up to her,” Henry replied. “If she can’t accept something that makes me happy, then that’s her problem, and something she needs to work out.”

"All right." Regina chewed the inside of her bottom lip hesitantly, unsure if she should bring up the other things in her mind.

“Hey.” Henry nudged her with his chin and smiled. “Gotta be honest, right? What else?”

Nodding, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "I don't ever want to be married again, so if you're wanting a relationship that turns into... _that_ , it isn't going to be with me."

Henry blinked a few times before saying, “Uh, honestly, I hadn’t thought about marriage.”

"And that's fine, I just want to make myself clear. If we get to a point where we are in a relationship, I don't want there to be surprises," Regina explained. "But I also don't want you to lose the possibility for anything you'd want in life."

“That’s fair,” he agreed. “If I ever feel it’s an issue, we can… I don’t know, address the situation or something. But yeah, it’s… not something I’ve been thinking about.”

Regina nodded again, feeling somewhat more awkward about bringing up the next thing. "And I know you're young, but for future reference... children are not an option."

“At all, or biologically?”

"Both. I can't have children, and I don't particularly want to start over." Taking one of his hands between both of her own, she organized her thoughts before continuing. "You are perfect. You are everything I could have imagined for my child. I don't want another."

Henry thought about that for a long moment before admitting, “I kind of always figured I’d adopt a kid. You know, give a home and a good life to a kid who didn’t have one.”

Regina caressed the hand she was still holding. "I want for you to have everything you want, Henry, I really do. But I don't have it in me."

Henry wanted to argue, but he held his tongue, not wanting to push for something against her will, especially since it was something he wasn’t even ready for himself. “Okay,” he said slowly. “It’s not really relevant right now anyway.”

"Okay then." She squeezed his hand, bringing it to her lips and kissing his fingers. "Is there anything you feel you should bring up?"

Shifting his gaze down, Henry quietly requested, “If we do this, I want to know that you’re gonna take it seriously. That if… if you _do_ decide it’s not something you can do, that you won’t just… stop out of nowhere. I want you to talk to me, and I want you to talk to Archie if you start to feel uncomfortable about anything. I know the whole thing is weird, and it’ll take some getting used to, but I just want to be sure that you’ll put in a full effort.”

Regina let go of his hand to cup his face. Looked intently into his beautiful eyes, she whispered, "How could I not want you? I just need you to understand if I need a breather, but I am all for us trying. That type of love, of devotion and desire... anyone would be crazy to not want that."

Henry blushed, but grinned. “So we’re agreed, then? This is… something we both want? Something we’re going to explore?”

"Yes." Regina shifted closer on the couch, nearly sitting on his lap with their close proximity. "But slowly. For me?"

“Anything you want,” Henry promised, kissing her again.

Accepting the kiss, she moved her arms to wrap around his shoulders. Regina pulled him harder against herself as she tentatively slid her tongue out against his lips.

Henry parted his lips immediately, meeting her tongue with his and humming into her mouth as the kiss deepened.

She tentatively took his hand again, pulling it to her waist and pressing it to her. Breaking the kiss, Regina looked into his eyes and gave a curt nod. "Some touching is allowed," she whispered.

Chuckling slightly, Henry kissed her again and curled his fingers into her red silk shirt, tugging it out from her waistband. “So serious,” he murmured, slipping under the shirt and brushing his fingertips over her side.

"I'm not very good at being less serious," she admitted softly. Regina moved her own hands to press lightly against the front of his chest.

Henry hummed in reply and said, “You can touch, too,” as he slid his hand around to her back, tracing her spine.

It felt different--touching her son like this, but she tugged his shirt up just enough to let her shift her hand to slide beneath it, the fabric falling around her wrist. Regina pressed her fingertips lightly to his warm skin and smiled.

“You feel good,” Henry said in a low voice, smiling back and dragging his fingertips up her spine.

" _This_ feels good," she countered, letting her fingers trail over his ribs. "I've... it's been a long time since I've really trusted someone enough."

“Enough to feel?” he asked curiously, his fingers grazing the strap of her bra before moving back down.

Regina nodded slowly, pressing her lips to his again to avoid verbally answering the question.

Henry took the silent answer for what it was, not pushing for more as he deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue and splaying his hand flat against her back.

She slid her hands down to his sides, squeezing him and noticing that he felt thinner than he looked, but stronger, too. Regina wanted to be able to give into him, wanted to hold him and be exactly what he wanted.

“You’re so beautiful,” Henry whispered, drawing his hand around to her side as well, his fingers laying along her ribs.

"I've always thought the same of you," she told him, her hands sliding over his waist to move overtop his shirt.

“Can I…?” Henry trailed off, moving his hand just below her breast, his fingertips just grazing the lace of her bra.

Regina hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided it would be nice, so she nodded. "Yes."

Sliding his hand higher, Henry dipped his head to her shoulder, his lips finding her neck as he groaned at the weight of her breast in his palm, her nipple perking at his touch.

Her breath hitched at the touch, her back arching, causing her breast to press firmer into his hold. "That's good, Henry."

“Yeah,” he agreed hoarsely, pressing his mouth to her pulse point and sucking gently as he flexed his fingers and ran his thumb over her nipple.

" _Oh, Henry,_ " Regina breathed, tilting her head and shifting to press her thighs together.

“Mmm,” Henry hummed, nipping at her skin and moving up to her ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth. “So sexy,” he whispered as he began to flick his thumb back and forth.

Regina moved her hands to his back, fingers lightly scratching through the fabric of his shirt. She'd all but forgotten how good it felt to be touched, and it was wonderful.

Taking a bit of initiative, Henry slowly slipped the cup of her bra down, giving her time to protest if he was going too far.

She watched him for a moment, but gave no argument when she felt the fabric being tugged away. It made her wonder where she would draw any lines.

Henry groaned again when his hand met bare skin, and he circled her taut nipple with one finger, loving the physical proof of the effect he was having on her.

"Feels incredible, darling," Regina whispered, her eyes carefully watching where he was touching her.

Lifting his head from her neck, Henry looked at her with dark, dilated eyes, licking his lips as his gaze caught on the smooth skin of her abdomen, revealed by the way her shirt bunched up at his wrist as he touched her.

Regina cupped his face, pulling him up and capturing his lips in a heated kiss. She let one hand drop, fingers lightly moving over the lines of his neck and shoulder.

Henry returned the kiss enthusiastically, and, caught up in the moment, he reached for the neckline of his shirt with his other hand, forgetting about his cast and soundly smacking himself in the head with it. “ _Shit_ ,” he swore, pulling away to shake his head and blink repeatedly.

Staying still for a moment, Regina shifted uncomfortably, fixing her clothes. She brought one hand up to where he'd hit himself and examined it. "Are you all right?"

Laughing a little ruefully, Henry nodded. “Yeah,” he sighed, “I’m fine. Damn cast.”

"You have your mother's clumsiness," Regina mumbled, shifting again to make sure everything she was wearing was in its proper place.

“Sorry.” Henry dropped his hands to his lap. “I guess the universe wanted me to back off a bit?” he suggested with another chuckle.

"It's all right. We should get you back soon to get your arm checked out. See how it's healing."

“Yeah. Maybe we could go in tomorrow?” Henry suggested. “Dr. Whale works Saturdays, doesn’t he? At least, I’ve never really seen him anywhere outside the hospital.”

Regina nodded, relaxing her side against the back of the couch. "Even if he isn't there, we can find another doctor. You should be just about healed up."

“I can’t wait to get this stupid thing off,” Henry grumbled, rapping his knuckles against the cast.

"I'm sure even if they can't tomorrow, it'll be soon. Then your clumsiness will be all your own," she teased, taking his hand and squeezing his fingers.

“Meanie,” Henry joked, grinning at her and pecking a kiss to her lips.

Regina gave him a soft smile. "No more accidents. And we'll go out of town soon to get you a car."

Henry nodded in agreement. “That sounds good.” Shaking his head slightly, he let out a small chuckle. “I can’t believe I freaking drove into another car. That’s so weird. Hey, the other driver, they weren’t hurt, were they?” he asked, suddenly concerned. “I mean, I figure I’d have heard about it if they were, but… they weren’t, right?”

"Nope, she was fine. Not a scratch on her, and I paid Mr. Tillman to fix up her car," Regina assured him, squeezing his fingers again.

Sighing in relief, Henry squeezed back and relaxed into the couch. “Good.”

"I'm tired. I think I'm going to go up to bed." Regina kissed his cheek, standing from the couch and smiling down at him. "I love you, sweetheart."

“Love you too, Mom,” Henry murmured, smiling. “Sleep well.”

"You too." With that, Regina headed upstairs and readied herself for bed, thoughts of their evening running through her head, even as she laid down to sleep.

~

Henry had almost pouted when Regina suggested he should probably spend some time back at Emma’s, since he’d been with her for over a week, but he refrained, understanding that he needed to spend equal time with his mothers, and Regina probably needed some time to process things. So after school that Monday, he made his way to the apartment, letting himself in and beginning the exercises the doctor had given him to strengthen his arm after the cast had been taken off.

Regina wasn't looking forward to going home and being alone all evening, but regardless of how used to having Henry around she had become, she knew Emma would only be more difficult about whatever was going on between her and Henry if he wasn't going to stay at her place, too. She decided she would swing by Emma's place on her way home from work to see how he was doing so, before heading to the mansion, she swung over to the apartment. Getting out of her car, she headed up and knocked on the door.

Henry got up from doing his homework to answer the door and smiled happily when he opened it to reveal Regina. “Hey, Mom,” he greeted warmly. “C’mon in.”

She entered, setting her purse down on a chair and returning his smile. "How are you doing?"

“Pretty good.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and giving her a light kiss. “Better now,” he added cheekily.

"Is that so?" Regina wrapped her arms around his shoulders, one hand cupping the back of his head. "What were you doing before that was so boring that a visit from me helps, hm?"

“Homework.” Henry kissed her again. “But no matter what I was doing, I’d be better now.”

"You're too sweet." Regina pulled out of his arms and looked around. "Are you catching up all right or do you need any help?"

“Nah, it’s good.” Henry pulled her over to the couch, sitting and drawing her down with him. “I got some weird looks and a lot of questions about what’s going on and why I ‘broke up’ with Gwyn but it’s fine. The work itself isn’t that hard.”

"Even calculus?" Regina asked, taking one of his hands into her own. "Just let me know if you change your mind. I don't mind helping."

Henry smiled, leaning into her. “I know. If I run into trouble, I’ll tell you.”

Regina pressed a kiss to the side of his head. "How are things going with Emma?"

“Ask me after I’ve seen her again,” Henry chuckled. “She hasn’t gotten home yet.” Shifting a little uncomfortably, he added, “And I haven’t told her that I took the potion.”

"Are you worried about how she'll respond?"

Nodding, Henry admitted, “A little. I didn’t really give a statement, so I can’t really press charges now.”

Regina nodded her understanding, turning her body more toward his. "That was a decision for you and you alone to make. She will just have to deal with it."

“I know.” Before Henry could say anything more, a key turned in the lock and the door opened.

Emma looked up in surprise at Henry and Regina sitting on the couch, but quickly relaxed. “Hey, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just figured it was time to come back here,” Henry answered with a small grin.

“Huh.” Emma dropped her keys on the table by the door and kicked her boots off, flopping into the chair across from the couch. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed them holding hands, but she didn’t say anything about it. “Hey, you got your cast off and you didn’t tell me!”

Henry looked down at his arm. “Oh, yeah. Went to the hospital yesterday and they said it was good to come off.”

Regina leaned forward slightly, squeezing Henry's hand reassuringly. "Hello, Emma." She had noticed the slight look the other woman had given, and she intended to make it clear once more that it was none of her business.

Emma gave the other woman a curt nod before turning her attention back to her son. “How’ve you been? I haven’t seen you since you came to the station about pressing charges.”

Henry’s expression turned uncomfortable, and he shifted in his seat, glancing at Regina.

Giving him a soft nod, Regina bit her tongue to prevent herself from yelling at Emma for her rudeness in front of their son. "I'm right here," she told Henry softly. "It's all right."

Gripping her hand tighter, Henry took a deep breath and looked back at Emma. “I, um. I took the forgetting potion.”

The room was silent for a long moment as Emma digested that information and Henry and Regina waited for her reaction. “You took the potion?” Emma sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “Kid… I know what it’s like to want to forget things that hurt, but you didn’t make a full statement when you came to the station. And now if you don’t remember… we can’t arrest that little bitch.”

Regina narrowed her eyes at the other woman and sighed. "That's just fantastic support, Emma. Really, seven years and you've got this parenting thing down great."

Emma glared at her, snapping back, “I’m not the one fucking our kid, so let's keep the parenting critiques to ourselves, yeah?” Relaxing her expression and looking back at Henry, she explained, “I’m not saying that I want you to be hurting, kid. Of course that’s not it. I just think you’re going to regret not being able to take legal action.”

Henry looked down, shrugging slightly. “You and Grandpa basically said it wouldn’t make a difference anyway, that she probably wouldn’t be convicted. Seemed like a lot of pain for nothing, and I just wanted it to be over. Now it is. And I can move on.”

“With your own mother?” Emma snorted.

"Henry and I are _not... fucking_ , Emma. Not that you care about what is actually going on in your son's life. How much effort have you actually made to make sure he was okay since you _walked out_ on him... _again_ , from the session with Archie!" Regina countered, her eyes dark with anger.

“Mom,” Henry said quietly, reaching out to rest his free hand on her forearm. “It’s okay.”

"It is most certainly _not_ okay. You deserve so much better." Regina scowled at the blonde, nearly as furious as she had been when she found out what Gwyn was doing to Henry.

Emma found her voice and stood up, towering over Regina and glaring down at her. “Don’t you dare imply that I don’t care about Henry,” she growled, livid. “He is my son, and I want the best for him, even if it’s not something I can give him. _That’s_ why I left Archie’s office. _That’s_ why I want to take that horrible girl down and throw her in jail for the rest of her goddamn life. Because I don’t know how to handle the emotional side, I don’t know how to be that supportive person, but what I can do is try to not make it worse, and try to punish the person who hurt Henry. So don’t you _ever_ say I don’t care.”

Regina stood, too, letting go of Henry's hand. She refused to be towered, refused to be looked down at, especially during an argument. "Yet you're standing here, judging what he wants, giving sideways glances and short responses to me when you know that's just going to upset him!"

Sighing, Henry shook his head, slipping off the couch and heading upstairs to continue his homework and letting his mothers argue in peace -- so to speak.

“I told you before, and I’ll tell you again, if I have to hurt him now in order to spare him greater hurt down the line, I will.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest. “And if I have to protect him from _you_ , _again_ , I most certainly will do that, too.”

Raising one hand, Regina nearly lost control, but she stopped herself before she could even rear her hand back in preparation for a smack. "You've never had to protect him from me, you know that. I would never, _ever_ hurt him."

“And yet,” Emma spat, motioning to the corner of the couch where Henry had been sitting. “Kissing? Hand holding? What the fuck, Regina. He’s a **kid**! He’s _your_ kid, for fuck’s sake! I get that he’s attracted to you and all, but that’s so fucked up on your part to indulge his fantasies!”

"Yes. Exactly. _He's mine_. Meaning you get no fucking say here! I am helping him." Regina looked away, wondering if Emma was right, if maybe she should stop. "I am giving him what I can to help him be happy, and that isn't your business."

“I didn’t realize you’d spread your legs for anyone going through a rough time,” Emma shot back.

Regina couldn't control herself then, and she brought her right hand up, laying a hard smack across Emma's cheek. She then gripped the other woman's throat and backed her up to the nearest wall. "I could kill you with one motion of my hand, Swan. Keep baiting me."

Emma’s expression twisted in anger, and she brought her arms up quickly, one forearm knocking against Regina’s to loosen her hold while the other slammed the base of her palm into the other woman’s throat.

At the sound of the smack, Henry came back downstairs, and his eyes widened at the sight of Emma’s hand making contact, and Regina beginning to cough and gag, even as her own hand gripped Emma’s neck. “What are you _doing_?!”

The sound of Henry's voice shocked Regina out of the momentary violent rage and she jerked her hand back as though she'd been burned. "Henry..." She turned to look at him, upset he'd seen that.

Emma looked down, shuffling on her feet as she avoided looking at her son. It was sad really, she thought, that he was being the most mature at the moment.

Shaking his head, Henry walked over to the two of them, looking at the red mark on Emma’s cheek -- the slap he’d heard, he figured -- and the mark starting to bloom across Regina’s throat. “Man, I thought you guys were past the violence,” he sighed.

Frowning, Emma looked up. “Kid, I’m sorry, but this… what Regina’s doing with you… it’s not okay.”

Regina looked down, properly admonished, and let out a soft sigh. Once again she'd let him down, and she found herself wondering if Emma was right. "I should..." she started, glancing up at Henry before moving her gaze to the door. "I should go." She moved around Henry, picking up her purse and heading toward the door.

Henry hurried to catch her arm, stopping her. “Wait a minute, okay?”

She looked up at him, forcing her emotions down and nodding slowly. "Okay."

Searching her eyes for a moment, Henry nodded, then turned back to Emma, walking right up to her. “You’re my mother,” he said, “but so is Mom. I love you both, and I want you both in my life. But everything, what’s going on between me and Mom, my decision to take the forgetting potion, all of it, those are _my_ choices, not yours. Your job is to support me, not criticize me. So you can either accept my decisions and move on -- maybe not _like_ them, but at least keep your opinions to yourself -- or you can lose your place in my life. Those are your options, and yes, it is that simple. Now I’m gonna go upstairs, and I’m gonna grab my homework, and I’m going back home with Mom, because I really don’t want to be around you tonight. We can try again tomorrow.” Without waiting for a reply, Henry turned to go back up to his room and grab his things, missing the utterly devastated look on his blonde mother’s face.

Regina turned slightly to look at Emma, hoping to find some sort of sorrow in her face. She couldn't quite tell what the other woman's expression meant, though she knew it was some level of upset. Clearing her throat, she whispered, "I'm sorry you disapprove, and I know I can't explain myself in a way you'll understand, but I don't really need to, either."

Emma glanced to the other woman, shooting her a glare and hissing, “Don’t talk to me.”

"Is that the choice you're making? Because Henry made himself very clear." She didn't say anything further in response, instead choosing to quietly wait for Henry's return.

Emma was spared having to respond as Henry came back down the stairs, his backpack slung over his shoulder. He hesitated, looking at Emma, then sighed and offered a, “See you tomorrow,” before turning toward Regina and the door.

Regina pulled the door open, not sparing another glance to the other woman as she walked out the door, taking Henry's hand once he shut the door behind them. "You okay?"

Sighing again, Henry nodded glumly. “Yeah, I guess. I mean… I wasn’t really expecting Ma to be jumping for joy or anything, but you’d think she’d at least be happy that I’m feeling better.”

Giving him a sympathetic look, Regina squeezed his hand. She let go, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn't have let her get to me. I shouldn't have hit her."

Henry hugged her back tightly. “I don’t blame you. Although I am curious why.”

"She said something that... it doesn't matter, I shouldn't have resorted to violence."

Lifting his head to look at her, Henry gave a half-smirk and teased, “Says the queen.” Before she could protest, he added, “I know, you’re not that person anymore, but I still like the poetic irony.”

"Seriously, you've spent far too much time with the Charmings; your sense of humor is nowhere near the level it should be," Regina teased back. "Come on, let's go home."

Chuckling, Henry nodded in agreement. “At least this puts off having Hungry Man for dinner, at least for a day.”

Regina chuckled, pulling him along with her to her car. When they got home, she immediately went to the kitchen to start dinner, leaving Henry in the foyer to decide if he wanted to join her or be alone for a few minutes. Cooking was methodical for her, easy, thoughtless, and she moved around the kitchen with the hope it would keep her busy enough to not worry about what Henry was going to do.

After a moment, Henry followed her, settling himself at the island and taking out his homework, working quietly as his mother cooked and letting the familiar sounds lull him into a calm bubble as he scratched out answers to his calculus homework.

Relief had flooded through her body when he joined her, though she hadn't said anything. She glanced at him often while she worked, putting together an easy meal of chicken, rice and broccoli. Regina filled two plates with the meal when she finished, setting his beside his school book and taking a seat quietly beside him.

Henry pushed the book away and smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Thanks, Mom,” he murmured, and pulled his plate closer so he could eat.

Regina hummed softly, the silence dragging her thoughts back to the argument with Emma. Maybe she should stop whatever they were doing, allow her son to find an appropriate person to fall in love with.

“You’re thinking very loudly,” Henry said between bites, reaching over with one hand and resting it on her thigh, squeezing lightly. “What’s wrong?”

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Just having issues getting out of my head," Regina answered softly, taking a bite of her dinner and looking at her plate as she chewed.

“Ma got to you, didn’t she?” Henry asked, a little disheartened. “You’re not rethinking this, right?”

Setting her fork back onto her plate, Regina turned to face him, resting a hand on his arm. "I just don't want to be another person who hurts you. You already have been let down, and to have Emma acting the way she is... I just can't hurt you, too. I'm scared that, in the end, that's all this will do."

Henry shook his head. “Even if this ends up hurting me -- which, I say ‘if’ because I don’t think it will -- it’ll be so much more than that. You’re… you’re giving me the first experiences I’ve dreamed of,” he said quietly. “This is something I want. And if it’s something you want, too, then don’t let Ma, or anyone else, change your mind. For one thing, you’re stronger than that, and for another, we both deserve to take a chance at happiness, even if it’s found in an unconventional location.”

Regina leaned toward him, pressing her forehead to his and nodding. "I will try to ignore all the negative thoughts in my head. I do want to try this. Since I read your notebook, I am just very curious to how this could be."

Biting his lip around a grin, Henry kissed her quickly, murmuring, “I could show you any time you want.”

She slid off her stool and nudged him to turn all the way to her. When he did, Regina stepped between his legs and put her arms around his shoulders. "I just need time before we go that far, hm? Maybe, now that you don't have your cast anymore and can't hit yourself in the head, we could try for what we did last week."

Henry’s grin widened as he slipped his arms around her waist and nodded. “That sounds perfect.”

"Eat." Regina pressed a soft kiss to his lips, moving to rest her hands on his shoulders. "We'll worry about that stuff later."

“Mm, if I have to.” Henry pouted playfully and pulled her in for another slow kiss before finally letting go.

Regina felt better. How he was so certain of what he wanted at such a young age and she couldn't even figure out what she was fine with, let alone what she truly desired, was beyond her. She ate quickly, getting up and cleaning the mess from cooking while she waited for him.

After Henry finished eating, he got up as well, rinsing his plate and putting it in the dishwasher. Turning to face her again, he smiled warmly. “We don’t have to, you know. If you’re not comfortable. I’m happy just watching a movie with you or something.”

"It isn't that I don't want to. In fact, I very much enjoyed it the other day." Regina hooked a finger over his belt, tugging him closer to her. "Just let it progress naturally. We'll take things as we come across them."

Grinning at that, Henry stepped closer, backing her against the counter and resting his hands on either side of her body. “Mm, you enjoyed it, huh? That’s good. I enjoyed it, too.”

Regina chuckled, turning her face up to his. "I know quite well that you did. And I'm glad."

Nipping at her lower lip, Henry grinned. “You weren’t so subtle yourself,” he teased, bringing one hand up briefly to drag a finger over her breast before returning it to the edge of the counter.

"Moreso than you were," Regina countered, eyes darkening as she watched him. "Are we teasing today? Because I can tease."

Leaning in, Henry brushed his lips against her ear and whispered, “Only because I couldn’t reach down and feel how wet I was making you.” He ran the tip of his tongue along her ear, then nuzzled behind it.

Regina felt a shiver make its way down her spine, and she pressed her lips to his ear in return, deciding it wouldn't hurt to tease him back. "You didn't get to, but I most certainly did."

Henry groaned, leaning into her more heavily. “I wish I could’ve seen that,” he breathed, pulling his head back just enough to claim her lips in an unexpectedly rough kiss.

Regina bit his lip when she parted hers for him. Sliding her hands to his waist, she pulled him hard against her.

This time, Henry didn’t hesitate to slip his hands under her shirt, splaying both palms against the warm skin of her back.

Turning them, she pulled him out of the kitchen, half stumbling as she kept her mouth on his.

Henry followed eagerly, continually trying to get closer as she moved through the house, and once he realized she was heading in the general direction of the living room, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up to get them there quicker.

Regina moved her lips over his neck as he carried her, mumbling, "Shouldn't... overuse... arm." She cupped his face, bringing her mouth back to his.

Readjusting so her weight was held by his good arm, Henry reached the couch, sitting and pulling her down onto his lap so her knees were on either side of his legs, then he drew her closer, her breasts pressing into his chest as he kissed her back deeply.

She let out a soft moan against his lips, her hands moving down his chest to his waist. Regina pulled back to look him over for a long moment, checking if a visual reminder of who he was would affect her. It didn't. She pressed her lips back to his with even more fervor than she had previously.

Groaning, Henry gripped at the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and muttering against her lips, “Off.”

Regina crossed her arms over her body, taking a side of the shirt in either hand and pulling it up over her head.

Swearing quietly, Henry looked at her, his hands brushing up her sides. He licked his lips as his hands reached her bra, and cupped her breasts in his hands, finally able to give attention to both.

Flicking her tongue out, she licked across her lips and watched him touch her. Regina leaned forward, pressing her breasts harder into his hands and kissing him.

“You feel so good,” Henry mumbled into her mouth, slipping his hands under the cups of her bra and lightly pinching her nipples as he slid his tongue into her mouth, exploring the contours that were steadily growing familiar.

Her breath hitched, and Regina rolled her hips over him. She started tugging at his shirt, wanting him as exposed as she was.

This time when Henry reached to yank his shirt over his head, nothing got in his way, and a moment later he was bare to the waist. Reaching for the clasp of her bra, he whispered, “Only fair, right?” but waited for confirmation before opening it.

Regina nodded, giving him the permission he was requesting. She enjoyed watching him, the way his eyes moved over her, it had her seeing herself through his desire. Leaning down, she pressed her body to his and roamed her hands over his bare skin.

Henry unclasped the bra with ease, a muscle memory he didn’t want to think about, and tossed it aside. Part of him wanted to feel her bare skin against his, but a greater part needed to touch, so he tangled one hand in her hair, tugging lightly and pushing her upright with his other hand on her sternum.

She complied easily with his request, sitting up and looking at him. Feeling slightly self conscious, she dropped her eyes to his chest and waited for his response to her body.

“Fuck, so sexy,” Henry moaned, sliding his hand down her chest and to the side to cup her breast, fingers rolling the perked nipple. With a needy sound escaping his throat, he leaned forward, his mouth grazing her skin before he closed his lips around her other nipple.

Regina arched her back in surprise, a sharp gasp sounding from her. She felt like they shouldn't be doing that, but she wanted it, certainly didn't want him to stop. Bringing one hand to the back of his head, she scratched her nails through his hair and let out a soft moan.

Henry shuddered and let his hand fall from her hair to her ass, pulling her tighter against his growing arousal as he rolled one nipple between his fingers, sucking and flicking his tongue against the other one.

"Henry..." Regina whispered on a breath. She hated knowing where he'd gotten his knowledge from, at least where he'd had his experience with a female body, but she wasn't going to deny his skill. Whimpering, she rocked against him in the tight hold between his covered erection and his hand.

“Feel so good,” Henry groaned, the edges of his teeth grazing her nipple as he spoke. The taste of her skin was addictive, and he pushed his face closer into her chest and sucked hard.

Moaning, Regina dropped her head back and shut her eyes. She concentrated on how it all felt; moving against him, his mouth on her, her fingers in his hair. It was all incredible, too much, but she wanted more, and for that she felt guilty.

Switching hands so he could move his mouth to her other nipple without leaving the first unattended, Henry shifted, slouching down on the couch slightly so he could meet her rocking with his own and moaned, “Mom…”

That word. Damn that stupid word in the moment. Regina stilled her hips and grasped either side of his head, pulling him away from her. "Henry, we need to stop."

Henry blinked up at her with dark, glassy eyes, his lust-fogged brain not processing her words, and his gaze fell to her mouth, making him reflexively lick his lips.

She had to look away. Regina couldn't bear that hungry look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Henry. We can't... I can't go farther right now."

The words finally filtered through, and Henry slowly let go, leaning his head against the back of the couch and staring up at the ceiling, breathing hard.

Sliding from his lap, Regina searched for her clothes. She found her shirt, holding it up to her chest to hide herself from his eyes.

Without the pressure of her against him, the tightness of his jeans felt unbearable, and Henry reached down, adjusting himself with a grimace.

Regina noticed his movement and bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Henry. I shouldn't have let it get so far. That was... it was too much."

Henry nodded, swallowing hard before giving her a small smile and speaking. “It’s okay. I understand.” Pausing for a moment, he then worriedly asked, “I didn’t… push too much, did I?”

"No, sweetheart, no. Not at all," Regina assured him quickly. "I wanted it. Well, _that_ , what we were doing. But I can't do more. Not yet."

Relieved, Henry nodded again. “Okay. That’s fine. But, uh…” Shifting a little awkwardly and coloring, he mumbled, “I think I’m going to go to bed early.”

Regina furrowed her brow, then realized what he meant. " _Oh_ , well... all right." She nodded, trying to get that image out of her head. "Sleep well."

“You too,” Henry replied, his flush deepening as he stood. Grabbing his own shirt, he hesitated, then pressed a light kiss to Regina’s cheek. “Night, Mom,” he said, his voice low and still thick with arousal.

Turning her face, Regina grabbed his arm to keep him from pulling away too much and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love you, darling."

Henry grinned. “I love you, too.” Before he was tempted to kiss her again, deeply, starting things again, he moved out of the room and up the stairs, closing his bedroom door behind him.

Regina sighed softly, standing to grab her bra. She held her two pieces of clothing close to her as she made her way upstairs and into her bedroom. Once safely hidden away in the solitude of her room, she finished undressing and slid between her sheets, sighing again.

~

At the unscheduled knock on Tuesday afternoon, Archie opened the door, expecting to see Henry, but not altogether surprised when it was Regina, instead. He smiled warmly and opened the door further. “Regina. Come in.”

Entering, Regina nodded as she passed the therapist and took a seat in the middle of the couch. She leaned back and blew out a heavy breath as she looked around the office.

Archie closed the door and took his seat across from the mayor, clasping his hands together. “What brings you here today?” he asked, his tone open.

Regina chewed her lip for a moment, then forced herself to stop. Looking at her hands, she said, "I'm having trouble with um... intimacy."

“With Henry?” Archie asked for clarification.

She nodded slowly, looking up at him for a quick moment, then away. "Yes."

Truthfully, Archie had been expecting this since the last visit when Emma had deduced that the mother and son held a mutual interest in each other, and he nodded. “All right. In what way?”

"Well," Regina started, taking a deep breath and sighing it out before continuing. "I want to be with him. I just... every time I think I'm making progress toward something, or getting to the point where this relationship isn't as shocking to me, something happens."

“How do you mean?” Archie asked, grabbing his notepad from his desk and beginning to jot things down.

Regina shifted in her seat. "For example, I suppose... Last night we were kissing and he moaned out 'mom' and it dragged me immediately out of the moment."

Archie paused, then nodded slowly. “That would be understandable. This is an adjustment for both of you, and I can certainly see how being called ‘mom’ in the heat of the moment would be a surprise.”

Nodding, Regina looked down at her hands and sighed. "I don't know what to do here. Emma is disgusted with me, I have no idea how Snow and David will feel about it. I... it feels strange, but I enjoy what we've done so far, Henry and I. But I was freaked out when he called me 'mom' but then I don't want to stop being that to him. I'm his mother, I raised him." Tears were pooling in her eyes and she blinked a few times to make them go away. "I just have no idea what to do."

Archie adjusted his glasses and set the notepad down again, choosing to lean forward instead. “That is completely understandable,” he said again, soothingly. “In one week your perception of Henry has turned on its head; I would be shocked if awkward moments like that _didn’t_ occur.”

Regina nodded again, looking up at the therapist. "What do I do? I need him to be happy, and _I_ want to be able to make him happy. The cost... I don't care for me, but his whole family will likely feel how Emma feels and I don't want him to sacrifice his relationship with all of them over me."

Archie hummed slightly and nodded. “I suppose it comes down to whether you trust Henry to be mature enough to make his own decisions on the subject,” he said, leaning back again. “And if you feel he isn’t, I think you should seriously consider whether being in a relationship with him is healthy for either of you.”

"It isn't that I worry if he's mature enough. He is. I _know_ he is. I just don't think I'm worth that sacrifice." Regina didn't intend for this session to take this turn, but at least she knew she could trust Archie. "I worry he'll realize that when it's too late."

“Regina,” Archie murmured warmly. “I think by now, Henry knows who you are, and what you’re worth. And if he’s clearly willing to make that sacrifice for you, which, from what you’ve said, it seems like he is, then you need to let him do that. Show him that you see the adult he’s becoming, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.”

Looking at him thoughtfully for a long moment, Regina finally said, "And you don't think this is insane or gross or... _wrong_?"

“Personally, or professionally?”

"Both. I want to know what you think from both sides."

“Well, professionally, I think it’s a bit of a delicate balance,” Archie admitted. “Given the situation Henry was in when things between you first started. But, with the forgetting potion, paired with the fact that he obviously had feelings for you to begin with, it does make me much more comfortable that he’s not being manipulated. _Not_ that I think you would manipulate him, but the line between maternal caring and romantic affection can certainly become blurred. Plus, I don’t think that a relationship between parent and child is _inherently_ wrong, simply that it often is, based on the situation.” Clearing his throat, he continued, “As for personally… I do find it a little uncomfortable. A combination of remembering Henry as a child, the fact that I never had to deal with a young man I was close to being involved with a woman -- Geppetto was much more interested in woodwork than women.  As well as, well, I, personally, am asexual, and as such, physical relationships make me slightly uncomfortable in general.”

Regina shook her head and brought her hands up to cover her face. "All right," she answered, her words muffled through her hands. She sat back up, uncovering her face. "I guess I'll just see how it goes."

Smiling, Archie reached out and patted her hand. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, Regina. Like I said, it’s been a week. You’re allowed time to adjust to the situation, and I’m sure Henry will agree.”

"Yes, well there are parts of me that don't want time to adjust," Regina muttered, only half caring if he heard. Though she was certain if he did, his response would be amusing enough to help her frustrated mood.

Archie choked a little, his face heating, and he awkwardly sat back, pulling his glasses off and cleaning them on the edge of his sleeve. “I-I see…”

"It's fine. I'm going to go figure this out on my own. Or... with Henry, I suppose," she answered, not pushing him further. "Thank you for your time."

Putting his glasses back on and clearing his throat, Archie nodded. “You’re always welcome,” he said, his voice a little strained, although the sentiment was sincere.

Regina stood, moving toward the door. "I appreciate that. I'll probably see you sooner rather than later."

Archie nodded, standing as well. “I’m here whenever you need to talk,” he reiterated, moving past her and opening the door for her.

"Thank you. Have a good afternoon." She didn't wait for his response, choosing instead to nod and hurry away. The session was all but completely worthless.

~

After school that day, Henry again made his way to Emma’s apartment, wondering what it was going to be like after the disastrous day before. Knowing that he could do nothing but find out through experience, he let himself in and started on his homework, waiting for Emma to get home from work.

When Emma finished her shift, she locked up her office and made her way home. She didn't know if Henry had really meant he'd be back or if he was just saying it to appease her when he left the day before. Finding the door unlocked when she got home, she gathered that he had meant it and braced herself for whatever may happen as she walked in the door. "Hey," she muttered, once she saw him sitting at the table.

“Hey,” Henry returned, looking up from his history assignment. He wasn’t sure what else to say, so he looked back down at his book.

"How's the homework?" Emma asked, at a complete loss of normal topics she would otherwise have brought up with him. The thought of him with Regina had been pestering her mind all day.

“Uh, fine,” Henry shrugged. “I’m totally caught up now from all the school I missed the last month.”

"Oh. Well good, then." She paused, thinking of another question to ask him. "Was school all right today?"

Nodding, Henry answered, “Yeah, it was fine. I see Gwyn in the halls, but we don’t talk to each other, obviously.”

"She leaves you alone?" Emma was surprised, but thoroughly relieved. Without Henry's memories, she couldn't give the girl a proper restraining order, but she was glad to hear that Gwyn was leaving him alone.

“Well, Mom threatened her pretty good,” Henry pointed out with a small chuckle. “Much violence was promised.”

Emma shook her head and walked into the small kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. "Yeah, well, she's definitely good at that."

“How’s your face?” Henry asked curiously, remembering the bright red mark from where Regina had slapped her the day before.

"Huh?" She thought a moment, then realized why he was asking. "Oh, it's fine. She's decked me before and I walked away just fine. A slap wouldn't do much damage."

Henry’s eyebrows rose, and he shook his head, fondly commenting, “You’d think she was the one who lived in New York.”

Giving him a look of false amusement, Emma nodded. "I'm sure she didn't get her title of the 'Evil Queen' because she liked petting puppies and holding children."

“She’s not the Evil Queen anymore,” Henry dismissed, “so that’s not relevant.”

"I was pointing out that New York isn't a requirement for violence. She's plenty violent on her own."

“And I’m pointing out that _you_ were born the Savior and you’re pretty violent, yourself.”

"I was born the Savior out of Rumplestiltskin's sheer dumb luck and toying with people's lives. It could have been anyone," Emma countered. "And it's hardly the point of the conversation."

“I’m not really sure what the point is,” Henry admitted.

"That I'm fine and physical pain is not the torment I'm worried about from Regina," Emma answered honestly.

Tilting his head, Henry frowned. “Are you worried about _any_ kind of torment from Mom?”

Emma set down her water and leaned against the counter, bracing the heels of her hands against the edge behind her. "Honestly? Yeah. This thing between you two... I don't know how to deal with it."

Henry sighed and turned in his chair to sit sideways and face her straight on. “You’re going to have to,” he pointed out quietly. “It’s not gonna go away just because you don’t like it.”

"I just don't get it. You're a good looking kid, sure, you're smart and funny and all that. But you're _her kid_. She raised you from infancy! She shouldn't want this kind of relationship with you."

Looking down with his brow furrowed, Henry asked, “Do you know how many people see her as a person worth desiring? Or how many people compliment with complete sincerity? Or how about how many people would rather spend their time with her over everyone else, because no matter what terrible things she’s done in the past, they don’t matter because the person she is now is completely amazing? All those questions have the same answer: none. Just me. And I don’t get it, because she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, inside and out, but nobody sees it. Except me. You haven’t read what I wrote about her, but she has, she’s seen herself how I see her. How she deserves to be seen. Why is it so wrong to like being wanted?”

Emma shook her head and looked down at the counter in front of her. "It isn't that I blame her for enjoying that feeling. Henry, there is a difference between appreciating someone and how that person treats you, and deciding you're going to fuck the person appreciating you, regardless of who that may be."

Somewhat annoyed at the implication, Henry replied, “First, we haven’t had sex. Second, if and when we do, it’ll mean more than just a fuck.”

"Again, you're missing the point! Henry, she shouldn't want to have that type of relationship with her son! I can understand you feeling the way you do about her, but not the other way around!" Emma argued, pushing away from the counter. "And it's out of the blue, which makes it worse to me. What, all of a sudden she decides that her son is who she should be with?"

“If you think either of us has decided anything other than ‘we like to kiss each other’ you’re greatly overestimating how far things have gone,” Henry said, even though things _had_ gone further than simple kissing, it wasn’t something they’d talked much about.

Emma shook her head and moved to sit at the table with him. "It doesn't matter what you've decided. The fact that there's a decision to be made, to even be thought of, at all... that shouldn't be a thing."

“Well it is, okay? It’s a thing, and whether you understand it or not, you’re gonna have to figure out a way to deal with it.”

Emma dropped her head in defeat and laid one arm on the table, palm splayed flat on the wood. "Fine. I'm not going to pretend to like it, or even be okay with it, but I'll do my best to at least not show you that."

“Thank you,” Henry nodded, knowing that was the best he was going to get. Turning back to his homework, he changed the subject, asking, “So… what’s for dinner?”

~

Regina was nervous as she watched the clock in her office move closer to five on the following Monday. She still hadn't really come to a conclusion on what she wanted with Henry, but they, _she,_ needed to figure it out soon, it wasn't fair to keep him dangling on a string like she had been doing. When the clock struck five, she gathered her things and headed home.

Having already finished his homework when Regina got home, Henry had been playing on his Xbox, but paused the game and tossed the controller onto the coffee table when he heard the Benz pull into the driveway. “Mom,” he greeted happily when Regina opened the door.

Regina smiled at him as she set down her purse and shut the door behind her. "Hello, sweetheart. How was school?"

“Uneventful. Things are dying down now.” Grinning, Henry cheekily asked, “Do I get a hello kiss?”

She moved to him, resting her palms on either side of his chest. Regina leaned up and pressed a soft, light kiss to his lips, then pulled away to look at him.

Henry smiled happily and slipped his arms around her waist comfortably. “I missed you. How was your day?”

Humming, she raised an eyebrow playfully and said, "Uneventful."

“Brat,” he teased, kissing her again.

"Brat?" Regina scoffed. "You're the only brat in this family, darling." She pulled from his hold and moved around him to go to the kitchen, dropping her hand to his at the last moment and tugging him with her.

Still grinning, Henry allowed her to lead him to the kitchen. “I beg to differ. You’re definitely a brat sometimes.”

Rolling her eyes as she dropped his hand, Regina mumbled, "I bet you would," then made her way to the fridge to pull out something for dinner.

“Huh?” Henry asked, his brow furrowed. “Would what?”

Regina gave him an innocent look and shook her head. "I bet you would love to help with dinner, hm?"

Henry raised an eyebrow. “Were you thinking something naughty?” he asked, smirking a little.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Regina crooked her finger, directing him to come to her.

“Yes, I would,” Henry agreed, stepping closer. “Especially if it’s something naughty about me.”

Regina leaned into him, putting her lips to his ear and whispering, "Do you know what I would find really sexy?"

Henry hummed inquisitively, his hands moving to rest on her hips as he distracted himself with her own ear.

Pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, she pulled back and smirked. "You cutting the vegetables, darling." She then pulled out a handful of items and held them out for him.

“Mmm, nope,” Henry decided, shaking his head. He took the produce from her and set it on the counter before pulling her back against him and murmuring, “I’d rather kiss you.”

"You've insulted me. I don't know if you deserve more kissing," she teased.

“I have done no such thing,” Henry protested, pouting.

"You called me a brat," Regina pointed out.

“In an affectionate manner.”

"Regardless." She wrapped one hand around his neck and leaned in to kiss him softly. "But maybe a couple won't hurt."

Humming, Henry returned the kiss, lightly sucking on her lower lip and backing her against the fridge.

Regina moved her free hand to rest over the left side of his chest. She flicked her tongue against his upper lip.

Henry deepened the kiss, meeting her tongue with his and leaning further into her so their bodies pressed tightly together.

Moaning softly into the kiss, Regina let both her arms wrap around his neck loosely. She returned the kiss for a long moment before breaking it and saying, "I really need to start dinner."

Henry groaned unhappily, saying, “I really need to kiss you more,” but backed away nonetheless.

"I get grumpy when I'm not fed. We will have time later. For kissing. And... talking."

“Okay,” Henry agreed, sneaking one more quick kiss before grabbing the vegetables she’d asked him to cut.

They made dinner quickly, and ate while keeping on light topics of discussion. Regina had meant it when she told him she would give this a chance, an honest one, and she wanted to tell him she was trying. She just didn't know how.

Once dinner was finished and cleaned up, they found themselves on the couch, as had seemingly become their custom, and Henry leaned into the arm of the couch, drawing Regina with him so they were reclined together.

Relaxing into his hold, she sighed softly and turned her head to look at him. "I... went to see Archie last week."

“Yeah?” Henry reached out, tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling warmly. “Did it help?” He wasn’t blind to the struggles she was having regarding the change in their relationship, and he was glad she was seeking out help.

She shook her head. "Not even a little bit."

Henry couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “No? Why not?”

Regina shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because no matter what Archie says, I'm going to be pissing someone off, and I don't know what that'll mean for you and me."

Humming thoughtfully, Henry ran his fingers through Regina’s hair. “Well,” he finally said, “part of me wants to make a joke about how that would make us rebels, but I know that’s not what you need to hear right now.” He paused, gathering his thoughts again as he continued to stroke her hair. “The thing is, you’re the most important person in my life. And what’s between us is just that -- between _us_. If anyone else has a problem with it, that’s on them. Even if it’s Ma, Grandma, and Grandpa. They might not approve, but if they really do love us, they’ll have to accept it. Not saying it’ll be easy. Just that… it’s worth it. You’re worth it, we’re worth it. This is worth it.”

"But you don't actually know that. All it is is a thought you have about a possibility." Regina turned slightly more to look at him better. "If they all are upset with this and all that... you could be ruining relationships you'd want to have to rely on if this didn't work."

Henry shook his head. “I’m not talking about the possibility of what this could be. I’m talking about what it is now. If it never goes past kissing and sometimes making out, it’ll still be worth it. As for if it doesn’t work out… I’d rather take the chance than play it safe. I’m not going into this thinking about what happens if it ends, I’m going into this thinking about what happens when I’m with you.”

"But I can't do something if I don't look at all sides, and consider the ways this could hurt you." Regina turned to look him intently.

“What about the ways this could make me _happy_? What about the ways it could make **you** happy?” Henry asked, cupping her cheek. “I don’t want to miss out on something great just because _maybe_ it won’t work.”

She looked at him carefully, covering his hand with her own and leaning in to kiss him softly. Regina held the kiss for a long moment before deepening it, sliding her tongue past both their lips to meet his.

Henry held her, one hand running up and down her side as he met the kiss, returning it, but letting her take the lead.

Regina deepened the kiss further still, slanting her head just slightly as she held him to her.

Humming, Henry brought one hand up to tangle in her hair, the other wrapping around her waist and pulling her further on top of him, wanting to be as close as possible.

With a heavy sigh, Regina broke the kiss and pulled away enough to look at him. "I... Half of me wants to throw everything in and take you upstairs, and the other half wants me to be careful because you and I both deserve something more than that... this deserves for us to give it more than that."

Henry simply smiled, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Whatever you want,” he said softly. “I’m happy just to be with you in any sense. This isn’t… It’s not like other relationships. We know we love each other, we know that’s not going to change. How we express it might -- is -- but the fact that we love each other? That’s already here. So I’m not concerned with moving slowly in order to develop this. It already has a rock solid basis. I’m more concerned with moving slowly to make sure you’re comfortable and won’t get spooked or freak out, or regret it after the fact.”

"You are so good, baby," Regina answered softly, leaning in and pressing another kiss to his lips. She still didn't know what to do, though she knew full well what he wanted.

“I love you,” he murmured in reply, slipping his hand under her shirt to caress the soft skin at the small of her back.

"I love you, too." Regina moved her lips down his jaw to his neck, kissing languidly. Pressing her nose into the underside of his jaw, she hummed softly, before whispering, "Maybe slower than sex, but not quite as slow as I originally meant."

Henry’s eyes closed and he tipped his head back, giving her more room as her lips roamed his neck. “Whatever you want,” he repeated, lightly scratching her back with short nails. “You’re in charge of how far this goes, and how fast.”

She sucked lightly on his pulse point, not nearly enough to leave a mark, then pulled away. "I'm scared of what I want."

“Don’t be scared,” Henry whispered, tracing her features with his fingertip. “You’re not going to hurt me. And I won’t hurt you.”

"I hurt everyone I love, Henry," Regina countered, moving her hand to the left side of his chest, over his heart. "And I love you the most of anyone."

Henry rested his hand over hers, weaving their fingers together. “You’ve loved me my whole life,” he reminded her. “And I’m still here. I still love you, too. You’re not going to hurt me.”

Regina felt overwhelmed in that moment, felt as though she could drown in the abundance of love and trust he had for her. "Archie said I need to show you that I know you're no longer just a boy... that I know you're a man. Do I... treat you like you're a child still?"

Thinking about that, Henry shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so. I know you want to protect me, especially because of what just happened with Gwyn, but I think you also need to let me decide if I need protecting. I don’t want to lose you as my mom. You’ll always be my mom. Maybe, just… if your main reason for doing or not doing something -- anything -- is because it might hurt me, maybe take that out of the equation and then decide if it’s something _you_ want or don’t want.”

"Okay," she answered softly. "It feels different. I never want to stop being your mother, but then I look at you and my head is filled with these thoughts that are most certainly _not_ motherly."

Henry couldn’t help the pleased grin that spread across his face. “And I’m totally okay with that.”

Shaking her head, Regina muttered, "Kinky." She considered a moment, wondering how far she could go without getting freaked out. "It was when you called me ‘mom’ yesterday that I was overwhelmed. It made it feel... I don't know."

“Wrong?” Henry suggested, running his hand up and down her back soothingly. “Like you’re innately taking advantage because you’re the parent? Because you should know, I definitely don’t feel that way.”

"I know. And I know you're old enough to know and decide who you want to be with." Regina rolled her lips together, sliding her tongue out and wetting them as she considered her words. She moved her hands beneath his shirt, smoothing her palms over his stomach. "I want to, um, I want you to come first. I want to try that before anything else, I think."

Henry blinked in surprise at the seemingly random comment. “Uh, okay? Can I ask why?”

Looking into his eyes, Regina concentrated on the warmth of his skin beneath her hands and the tenderness in his look. "Because then it's about you, and I can see how I feel doing something that intimate and be certain that I'm not just responding to you because I haven't felt desired in such a long time. I want to make sure that I'm not giving in out of loneliness." She paused a moment. "Not that I think that's what I'm doing, but I've done a lot of things in my life with different intentions than I thought I had."

Nodding in understanding, Henry kissed her, murmuring against her lips, “I still get to do this, though, right?”

"Mhm. And... the touching. I just want to be the first to touch you _there._ " She kissed him in return, nipping his bottom lip playfully and tugging it with her teeth.

Henry groaned, flicking his tongue against her upper lip and growing hard beneath her.

Letting go of his lip, she pressed her lips to his, sliding her tongue into his mouth. Regina moved her hands to his sides, squeezing him affectionately. She shifted so she was fully straddling his lap, and she could feel his arousal.

“Mmm, love feeling you against me,” Henry mumbled, using his hand on her back to draw her closer, his hips raising to press tighter against her.

Regina moaned softly and nodded against him. "Let's go upstairs. I want you to be comfortable."

A little surprised, again, Henry nodded, even though he hadn’t been expecting that this would happen _now_. “That sounds good,” he agreed, kissing her again.

She slid off his lap and stood in front of him, holding out both hands for his. Pulling him up to her, she dropped one hand and used the other to pull him along with her up to her bedroom.

As they climbed the stairs, Henry suddenly realized that _this was happening_. His fantasies, the things he wrote about, were about to come true. His palms started to sweat, and he wiped his free hand on his jeans as they entered the room.

Regina noticed his hand was clammy and she turned to face him with a soft smile. "Calm down, my love," she whispered softly, cupping his face in her free hand.

Henry blushed that she noticed his nerves, but couldn’t help his smile at the term of endearment. “I’ve wanted this for a long time,” he admitted quietly.

Letting go of his hand, she brought her other to cup the back of his neck. Regina pulled him down for a kiss, backing up slowly toward the bed.

Returning the kiss and moving with her, Henry remembered what she’d said about touching, and he slid his hands up her sides to cup her breasts, squeezing lightly.

Regina moaned against his lips, sitting on the bed, and breaking the kiss, when she felt it against the back of her legs. She looked up at him, dark eyes full of desire.

Henry looked down at her, seated in front of him, and swallowed hard, his erection straining at his zipper as all of his fantasies about her mouth came to the forefront of his mind.

"Come here," she whispered, taking his hand and pulling him.

Lifting one knee to the bed next to her, Henry knelt and moved forward, pushing her down onto her back as he did. “You’re so sexy,” he whispered back, nosing under her chin and flicking his tongue against the delicate skin there.

Regina hummed, moving to grip the bottom of his shirt and pull it up. "I love you, Henry."

“I love you, too.” Henry pulled away long enough to shed his shirt and pull hers off as well, before pressing back against her, the lace of her bra brushing his chest. “Will it freak you out if I call you ‘Mom’?” he asked, biting his lip briefly. “Because I might not be able to help it.”

"No. I-I don't think so." She hoped not, anyway. "I'm not sure I'm ready for a switch to my name." Moving her hands to his lower back, Regina held him tightly, her fingers pressing into his skin.

“Mmm…” Henry smiled, kissing her again and slowly grinding his hips against hers, letting her feel exactly how hard he was inside his jeans.

Regina moaned softly, then slid one hand between them so the rough texture of his jeans was beneath her hand as she moved to cup his erection hesitantly.

Henry groaned and his hips jerked under her touch. Trailing his mouth from her lips, down her neck, he pressed his face there, breathing in the smell of her skin and tasting it with his tongue.

She let herself relax into the bed for a moment, allowing herself to enjoy his kisses. Before too long, Regina brought her other hand around to his chest, pushing against him. "Lay on your back."

Grumbling a little at being forced from his very pleasant position, Henry rolled onto his back and shifted up the bed so he was laying on it fully.

"Just touching tonight," Regina whispered, not wanting him to expect her to use more than her hand just yet. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss over his heart, feeling the strong thudding against her lips.

Henry nodded, and although he’d certainly been hoping for her mouth, he wasn’t surprised that it wasn’t going to happen right away. Or, he thought, thinking of her first marriage, possibly ever. “Will you…” he trailed off, hesitating.

Regina looked up at him, raising one eyebrow. "Will I... what?"

“If I’m… gonna be naked,” Henry flushed a little, “I want to be able to see you, too. Even if I can’t touch just yet.”

Considering a moment, she nodded slowly. "I guess that's okay."

Henry let out a quiet moan of anticipation, and drew her against him again, kissing her intently.

Regina pulled away from him and smiled. "Hold that thought." Sitting up on her knees, she undid his belt, following with the button and zipper of his jeans. She waited a moment, preparing herself to see him, then she slowly tugged his pants and boxers down.

Lifting his hips to aid her, Henry took a quick, nervous breath at being exposed for the first time, and anxious questions about whether he was big enough, long enough, hard enough, shaped well enough, filled his mind.

She avoided looking at him at first, concentrating on pulling his clothes off his legs and mentally bracing herself for a moment. Standing off the bed, Regina unzipped her pants and hesitantly pushed them, and her underwear, down off her hips and let them fall to the floor.

Henry’s gaze wasn’t as shy as Regina’s and slid up and down her body, causing him to inhale sharply. His erection pulsed at the sight as well, and he licked his lips as he looked at her. “You’re so… wow.”

Regina blushed, finally allowing herself to look over his body. "Thank you," she answered softly, moving back onto the bed beside him. She rested one hand on his thigh as she sat, squeezing him and smiling. "I wouldn't have expected myself to find you sexy."

Letting out a little, involuntary laugh, Henry replied, “Considering the circumstances, I’m glad at the implication that you do.”

She nodded. "I do." Regina turned away for a moment, reaching into her nightstand and pulling out a small bottle of lube. Turning back toward him, she smiled awkwardly, muttering, "Nobody likes a dry handjob."

It was like he had slipped into a fantasy, and that comment brought him back to the fact that this was actually happening. The laugh he let out was verging on hysterical, and he shook his head. “This is really real, isn’t it? You’re really going to... “ he trailed off with a groan.

Regina laid down beside him, leaning up on her elbow. "I'm really going to. I'm honored you want me to be your first." She kissed him lightly, then pulled back to pour some lube into her hand.

A thought distracted him -- probably a good thing, he figured, otherwise he would come before she even touched him -- and he asked, “Why do you have lube, anyway?”

"For my own use," she answered, pulling away again and reaching into her drawer again with her dry hand. Regina revealed a mid sized vibrator for a moment, before dropping it back into her drawer.

The breath whooshed out of him, and the momentary distraction only made his situation worse as images of his mother pleasuring herself came to mind. “Fuck,” was all he could say, in a shaky whisper.

Regina chuckled as she laid back down beside him, slowly bringing her slickened hand to his erection. She wrapped her fingers around him and paused a moment, taking in the feel of him in her hand. "For someone who has spent so much time writing sexual things about me, you seem surprised to find out that I need to get off."

Henry moaned, the sensations overwhelming him and erasing everything in his mind except the pleasure.

She began to stroke him base to tip, her pace even and unhurried. Regina pressed a kiss to his jaw, shifting her body closer to him so she was pressed snugly to his side.

“God,” Henry sighed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her even tighter against him, his other hand cupping her jaw so he could tilt her head up and kiss her, his tongue sliding past her lips.

Returning his kiss, Regina moved her hand just a little faster. She didn't want to rush it, but she also didn't want to tease him.

Henry moaned into her mouth, his hips twitching up with each stroke, and he mumbled, “I don’t want to be this close this fast, but I can’t help it.”

Regina moved her lips to his neck, pressing light kisses over his skin. "It's okay. Come whenever you're ready."

“Little faster?” Henry requested breathlessly. “And, and maybe a little tighter?”

Complying, Regina tightened her grip iand quickened her pace, switching between long strokes over his entire length and shorter ones just over the head and rim of it.

Henry nearly whimpered, his eyes squeezing shut against his will as the sensations built up deep within him. It was only a minute later that he was at the edge, and he forced his eyes open, breathing, “Look at me.”

Regina turned her face up to look into his eyes. He looked incredible, so close to release, his lust-filled eyes boring into hers.

Biting his lip, Henry let himself go, releasing into her hand and feeling the warmth drip onto his stomach, a quiet, choked, “Mom,” the only thing escaping his lips as he stared into her eyes.

She felt her heart pounding hard inside of her chest, arousal coursing through her body and pooling between her thighs. Regina felt pure enjoyment at making him come, and that was what told her she really and truly wanted him, that it wasn't just loneliness and wanting to make him feel better. Slowing her hand, she let go of him and reached past him to the far nightstand for a box of tissues.

Henry relaxed into the bed with a shaky exhale, letting his eyes fall shut again as he caught his breath, tingles still racing over his skin.

Regina pulled out two tissues and cleaned him off, then cleaned her fingers. She tossed the tissues away into the trashcan by the bed, then laid back down beside him, curling herself into him.

Blinking his eyes open, Henry ran his fingers down her side. “That was amazing. I’ve never felt like that before.”

 

"Good. I enjoyed it," Regina answered quietly, leaning up to kiss him.

“Good,” Henry murmured back, smiling as he returned the kiss. After a moment, he pulled back and tentatively asked, “Can I touch you?”

Looking at him tenderly, she nodded slowly. "Yes." Her voice was thick with desire when she spoke, and she was certain he'd notice the shift in her.

Henry moaned and kissed her again, unable to help himself. He wasn’t entirely sure what had changed (besides the obvious new step in their relationship), but the hesitance wasn’t present in her voice anymore, and that turned him on as much as anything she’d done so far. “Can I… I want… Is it too much to… taste you?”

" _Oh_." Regina hesitated then. It wasn't that she didn't want it, because she did, _gods_ she did, but it was more than she'd done for him. The thought of watching him between her thighs was too much to turn away though, so she nodded. "Okay."

Moaning again, Henry shifted so she was on her back as he hovered over her, dropping little opened-mouth kisses as he shifted down her body. When he was even with her breasts, he stopped, taking each nipple into his mouth as he switched between them.

She let out a low moan as she watched him. He was most certainly her weakness, and it seemed so effortless for him. Regina moved a hand to his head, combing her fingers through his hair and scratching at his scalp. "So good, darling," she breathed.

Henry glanced up as he sucked a nipple into his mouth, a smile quirking the corners of his lips as he thought that he may not have been breastfed as an infant, but he could certainly make up for it now.

Regina arched an eyebrow as she watched him. "What's that smile for?"

Lifting his head so that her nipple popped out of his mouth with a soft sound, he murmured with a grin, “I was just thinking how I can make up for not having been breastfed.”

Both eyebrows raised then. "I certainly didn't read _that_ in your notebook." She paused a moment, then bit her lip in thought. "Do you want me to... um, never mind," she mumbled, dismissing the idea before even wording it.

Henry blushed. “Well, on the off chance that someone found it and knew it was mine, I didn’t want _certain things_ to be known. But…” He grinned, having a pretty good idea what she’d been about to say. “Maybe keep that in mind for another time?”

Regina nodded, whispering, "Okay." She moved both hands down his shoulders to his back, pressing her fingertips into his muscles. "Keep going."

Obediently, Henry dropped his head, kissing each of her nipples before shifting further down, trailing his tongue down the center of her abdomen to her navel and lightly biting at the skin beneath.

She couldn't decide whether she wanted to relax and enjoy the affection, or push him down and urge him to get on with it; she needed him lower. But this was about him, about _them_ connecting, and she would let him do as he pleased. Regina relaxed into the bed, never moving her eyes from him.

Looking up again, Henry shifted to lay between her thighs, watching her as he dragged his mouth down over her skin, until he hovered just above where she wanted him, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Raising her hips, she gave him a playful glare. "No teasing. You keep that up and I'll make use of that toy I showed you earlier just fine." That was a lie; no vibrator could compare to the feeling of a mouth on her.

Henry chuckled against her, moving so he was right against her sex, just barely touching. The arousal was killing him, his renewed erection pressing hard into the mattress, but it was worth it for her reaction when he murmured, “Would I get to watch?” the words vibrating against her.

"Absolutely not." Regina fought a smile and shook her head. "You'd enjoy that too much."

“Well then I’d better not test my luck.” He licked his lips reflexively, and the taste of her hit him hard. With a loud groan, he abandoned any attempt to tease or hold back, that small taste not nearly enough to satisfy him, not with the knowledge that the wetness on his tongue was because of _him_ , because she thought _he_ was sexy.

Regina whimpered. It had been far too long since she'd had someone do this for her and she didn't remember it ever feeling so incredible.

Henry had read a lot, imagined a lot, and wrote a lot, but now that the moment was here, all of that abandoned him, and all he wanted was to get as much of her in his mouth as possible, his tongue quick and eager.

She rolled her hips up to him automatically, sighing softly. Regina didn't know how well she could handle this, especially if he talked to her while he did it, so she tried to relax into the bed and think about what had worked so far for them.

Henry didn’t know where to focus his attention. On the one hand, she moaned so nicely when he sucked on her clit and circled his tongue over and around it, but on the other, the taste of her seemed to fill his very being when he lapped at her or pointed his tongue to press as deep into her as he could reach.

Letting out a soft hum, Regina forced herself to watch him and found that it wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. Maybe she was just overthinking sometimes. "That's good, my darling."

Henry lifted his head slightly, briefly, just enough to meet her gaze and request, “Tell me what to do?” before his tongue was on her again.

Regina licked her lips and nodded. "Mm, fingers inside. Mouth... mouth on my clit."

Moaning quietly, Henry dragged his tongue over the length of her once more before bringing his hand up, easily sliding one finger into her, muttering a curse against her as her slick heat surrounded him. He added a second finger on the next stroke, and his lips moved to her clit, sucking it between them.

" _Ohh, gods_ ," Regina said on a breath. She closed her eyes, dropping her head back to the pillow and concentrated on the sensations. "Just like that."

Eager to bring has as much pleasure as he could, Henry fell into a rhythm with his fingers, thrust-curl-twist repeat, as he sucked and licked her clit, his own hips flexing to grind against the mattress in search of a bit of relief for his achingly hard cock.

Regina let out a soft whimper and moved one hand to his head, fingers carding through his hair. She bent one knee, bringing it up and pressing her foot against the bed, toes curling into the duvet.

Henry took the opportunity to get even closer, his upper body slightly hunched. Making a questioning noise, he brushed a third finger against her entrance as he worked the first two.

"Mm, no, baby... just two," she whispered, gripping his hair tightly between her fingers and moving with him.

Nodding, Henry curled the finger back into his hand, continuing the rhythm of his fingers, but switching from sucking her clit to liberal strokes and flicks with his tongue.

Regina moved her hand down the side of his head, stroking his face with her fingertips. "Harder, Henry... please?"

She hadn’t needed to add the ‘please,’ but delicious tingles raced down his spine when she did, and he complied, stroking into her harder, licking and sucking more firmly.

Her breaths started coming faster, that warm feeling starting to move through her body. "I'm so close, just a little more," she whispered.

Henry moaned around her clit, nearly desperate to feel her come around his fingers, taste the pleasure he could bring her. He was torn between wanting to talk to her, to tell her to come for him, and the desire to have his mouth on her at the exact moment she released. In the end, he continued what he was doing, humming encouragingly against her as he moved his fingers faster.

Regina felt her muscles slowly begin to tense and she moved her bent leg over his shoulder, her heel pressing into his back. Sliding her fingers back into his hair, she gripped him as she was thrust into her orgasm, her thighs trembling.

Feeling her muscles tighten and flutter around his fingers had Henry’s head spinning, and he curled them further, the tips pressing against a swollen, ridged spot that he hadn’t noticed before.

"Oh _fuck!_ " she cried, the new stimulation on her g-spot thrusting her deeper into pleasure, another wave rolling through her body. Regina tightened her grip on his hair and rolled her hips against his mouth through her release.

Henry wasn’t 100% sure of what he’d done, but he certainly enjoyed the reaction, so he lightly massaged his fingertips against the spot, gentling his mouth on her clit to soothing strokes with the flat of his tongue.

Regina's voice was hoarse when she whispered his name a few moments later. She slowly moved her leg off him, slipping her hand from his hair as well, as she relaxed back into the bed.

Panting, Henry lifted his head, pushing himself up on his elbows and licking his lips. “That was amazing,” he groaned, moving back up her body to rest against her, his erection pressed between them low against her abdomen.

"It was," she agreed softly, bringing her hands to his sides. "You're very giving." Regina sighed softly, the pleasure and complete relaxation she felt in the moment was the greatest she'd felt in a long time.

“Mmm, nah,” Henry murmured, nuzzling her jaw. “Was being pretty selfish, actually. I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”

"I can count on one hand the men I've been with who've eagerly wanted to do that," Regina countered, rubbing her cheek against him. "I'll still consider it giving."

Henry grinned, rather pleased with himself. “Well then, by all means, feel free to request it any time.”

Bringing her hands up to the front of his shoulders, Regina pushed him away, leading him onto his back. She kissed him softly, moving her lips in a trail over his jaw and neck. "Perhaps we should take care of this again," she murmured against his skin, her hand sliding down his body to cup his erection.

Groaning, Henry nodded and murmured, “Yes please,” as his hips jerked up into the touch. His level of arousal from giving his mother pleasure was even higher than it had been when she had first invited him upstairs with her.

Regina moved to straddle his thighs, sitting high enough on them that she could feel his balls against her opening. She stilled a moment at the sensation, then slid her fingers through her wetness. Once she'd gathered enough to slicken her fingers, she gripped his cock and started to slowly stroke him.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Henry hissed, his eyes wide as he watched her, his brain pointing out that it was her arousal on him, that this is what his cock would look like if he fucked her -- shiny and slick with her wetness.

She was so close to him that her thumb brushed her own sex with every stroke she gave. Watching him as she moved her hand up and down his erection, Regina licked her lips and, for a moment, wished she was ready to have sex with him.

Reaching down, Henry rested his hands on her thighs, lightly brushing over her soft skin. He bit his lip, his gaze moving from where she touched him to her face, and he whispered hoarsely, “You’re so beautiful.”

Regina smiled at him and she could feel her cheeks growing warm under his gaze. "Thank you," she answered quietly, never slowing her hand.

Henry groaned, his head pressing back into the pillow as he lifted his hips, meeting her strokes. “Feels so good… can’t wait to be inside you,” the words slipped out without his permission as he imagined what she would feel like now that he’d had his fingers inside her and could better visualize it.

Eyes widening, her touch hesitated for a quick moment before she regained her composure and continued. "I'm... sorry I'm not ready yet," Regina whispered, knowing he wouldn't care too much, but she felt selfish for letting him go down on her without being able to do more for him yet.

“I know,” Henry nodded, and gave her a blissfully aroused grin. “Just imagining. Felt so good, my fingers inside you.”

"It did," Regina agreed. "It felt wonderful." She switched between long strokes over his entire length, to tighter, quicker strokes over the head and rim.

Letting out an involuntary cry, Henry’s eyes squeezed shut of their own accord, his back bowing as he instinctively tried to get _more_.

Using her free hand, Regina took one of his and brought it to her mouth, kissing along his knuckles. "I love you, Henry."

“Love you,” Henry returned, forcing his eyes open again as he traced her lips with a fingertip, then pressed it between them, biting his lip hopefully for the visual.

Opening her mouth, she ran her tongue over the length of his finger, then sucked it into her mouth, her lips closing around the base of it.

After everything, it wasn’t very surprising that that was what sent him over the edge, spilling into the firm grip of her hand while she sucked his finger between her full lips.

Regina gasped in surprise when she felt his warm release spill over her fingers. She released him and leaned down, pressing her lips to his softly.

Henry moaned quietly, meeting the kiss as his body relaxed, melting into the bed.

Ignoring the stickiness that was transferring to her stomach, Regina moved her hand from between them and gripped the sheets as she kissed him. She didn't care about dirtying them, she could change them later.

Wrapping his arms around her, one hand moving to tangle in her hair, Henry deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue past her lips.

Regina brought her clean hand up and stroked his cheek lovingly as she held the kiss for a few moments. Slowly, she broke away, leaving a soft peck on his lips. "I don't think it'll take me as long as I initially thought."

Henry couldn’t help chuckling, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “Good to know.”

She rolled off of him and scrunched her nose. "I need to take a shower."

“Me too.” Henry looked down at the fluids smeared over his stomach. “Can I join you?”

Regina leaned up on her elbows and looked him over. "I guess that's okay."

Henry grinned and rolled off the bed, holding out both hands to her like she had done earlier.

Taking his hands, Regina let him pull her along to the bathroom, and started the shower. She felt incredibly at ease being with him in that manner, much more at ease than she would have ever expected. And she couldn't bring herself to care anymore about what his family thought of it. They were happy.


End file.
